Natixis Grows Position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Natixis lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,722 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,628 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $14,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 269,690 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $27,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,945 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,211,222 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $122,948,000 after buying an additional 31,752 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,759 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $42,407,000 after buying an additional 13,630 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 51,823 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,262,000 after acquiring an additional 2,781 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,822,063 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,199,680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,133 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CNI traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $97.58. 1,223,635 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,282,954. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $98.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.03. Canadian National Railway has a fifty-two week low of $91.65 and a fifty-two week high of $130.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $61.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last released its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.6159 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway's payout ratio is 47.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNI. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Securities upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $112.00 to $104.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.36.

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.