Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.62

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 31st,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.6159 per share by the transportation company on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61.

Canadian National Railway has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.9% annually over the last three years. Canadian National Railway has a payout ratio of 37.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Canadian National Railway to earn $6.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.35 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.2%.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 3.1 %

Canadian National Railway stock traded up $3.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,752,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,407,496. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $104.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.63. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $98.69 and a 12 month high of $134.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $64.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $130.67 to $126.29 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $124.19.

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.