Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $124.19.

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Veritas upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 43.3% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,552 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,822,000 after buying an additional 4,698 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 29.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 92,300 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $10,820,000 after buying an additional 21,100 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 363.6% in the third quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 153,880 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $18,012,000 after buying an additional 120,687 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 5.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,962,972 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $464,002,000 after buying an additional 202,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Partners Group Holding AG increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 16.3% in the third quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 406,066 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $47,571,000 after buying an additional 56,849 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of CNI stock traded up $1.43 on Monday, hitting $103.81. The stock had a trading volume of 940,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,371,759. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50 day moving average is $102.66 and its 200-day moving average is $109.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.66. Canadian National Railway has a 52-week low of $98.69 and a 52-week high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 22.48%. As a group, research analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway's payout ratio is 46.68%.

About Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail, intermodal, trucking, and marine transportation and logistics business in Canada and the United States. The company provides rail services, which include equipment, custom brokerage services, transloading and distribution, business development and real estate, and private car storage services; and intermodal services, such as temperature controlled cargo, port partnerships, and logistics parks.