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Canadian National Railway (CNI) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Canadian National Railway logo
$102.66 -0.24 (-0.23%)
(As of 05:41 PM ET)

Canadian National Railway - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2025)

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

Consensus Rating

Sell
1
Hold
11
Buy
7

Based on 19 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Canadian National Railway in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold." Out of the 19 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 11 have given a hold rating, 4 have given a buy rating, and 3 have given a strong buy rating for CNI.

Consensus Price Target

$125.86
22.60% Upside
According to the 19 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Canadian National Railway, the average price target is $125.86. The highest price target for CNI is $143.00, while the lowest price target for CNI is $116.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 22.60% from the current price of $102.66.
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CNI Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
12/27/23 to 12/26/24
1 Month Ago
11/27/23 to 11/26/24
3 Months Ago
9/28/23 to 9/27/24
1 Year Ago
12/27/22 to 12/27/23
Strong Buy
3 Strong Buy rating(s)
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
4 Buy rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
2 Buy rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
Hold
11 Hold rating(s)
13 Hold rating(s)
15 Hold rating(s)
13 Hold rating(s)
Sell
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$125.86$125.48$127.64$122.09
Forecasted Upside22.60% Upside14.43% Upside9.65% Upside-2.97% Downside
Consensus Rating
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold

CNI Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.
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CNI Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.
Skip Chart and View Analyst Price Target HistorySkip Chart & View Price History Table

Canadian National Railway Stock vs. The Competition

TypeCanadian National RailwayTransportation CompaniesS&P 500
Consensus Rating Score
2.47
2.61
2.51
Consensus RatingHoldModerate BuyModerate Buy
Predicted Upside23.12% Upside39.50% Upside13.25% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Positive News

See Recent CNI News
Positive News
Positive News
DateBrokerageAnalyst NameActionRatingPrice TargetUpside/Downside on Report DateDetails
12/19/2024Evercore ISI
2 of 5 stars
J. Chappell
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UpgradeHold ➝ Strong-Buy
11/12/2024Citigroup
3 of 5 stars
A. Rosa
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UpgradeNeutral ➝ Buy$126.00 ➝ $130.00+16.41%
10/24/2024Benchmark
2 of 5 stars
 Reiterated RatingHold
10/23/2024Veritas
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D. Fong
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UpgradeHold ➝ Strong-Buy
10/23/2024Stephens
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D. Imbro
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Reiterated RatingEqual Weight ➝ Equal Weight$116.00 ➝ $116.00+1.98%
10/23/2024Stifel Nicolaus
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 Boost TargetHold ➝ Hold$130.00 ➝ $132.00+15.50%
10/23/2024Susquehanna
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 Lower TargetNeutral ➝ Neutral$130.00 ➝ $125.00+11.37%
10/10/2024Royal Bank of Canada
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W. Spracklin
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UpgradeSector Perform ➝ Outperform
10/9/2024The Goldman Sachs Group
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 Lower TargetSell ➝ Sell$131.00 ➝ $124.00+9.16%
10/9/2024Sanford C. Bernstein
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D. Vernon
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Lower TargetMarket Perform ➝ Market Perform$130.67 ➝ $126.29+11.18%
10/7/2024Wells Fargo & Company
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C. Wetherbee
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UpgradeEqual Weight ➝ Overweight$125.00 ➝ $125.00+10.09%
10/4/2024Bank of America
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 DowngradeBuy ➝ Neutral$129.00 ➝ $122.00+6.80%
9/25/2024Barclays
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 Boost TargetEqual Weight ➝ Equal Weight$120.00 ➝ $121.00+3.30%
7/10/2024Scotiabank
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K. Gupta
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UpgradeHold ➝ Strong-Buy
6/27/2024National Bank Financial
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C. Doerksen
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UpgradeSector Perform ➝ Outperform
4/8/2024Jefferies Financial Group
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 Initiated CoverageHold$130.00+0.20%
1/10/2024CIBC
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 DowngradeSector Outperform ➝ Neutral
1/8/2024Susquehanna Bancshares
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 Boost TargetNeutral$115.00 ➝ $143.00+14.83%
1/8/2024TD Securities
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 DowngradeBuy ➝ Hold
11/27/2023Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft
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 DowngradeBuy ➝ Hold$125.00 ➝ $121.00+4.93%
10/11/2023JPMorgan Chase & Co.
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 Lower TargetNeutral ➝ NeutralC$167.00 ➝ C$159.00
9/14/2023Raymond James
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 UpgradeMarket Perform ➝ Outperform
8/1/2023Argus
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 DowngradeBuy ➝ Hold
7/26/2023Desjardins
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B. Poirier
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Lower TargetC$184.00 ➝ C$181.00
7/26/2023BMO Capital Markets
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 Lower TargetC$177.00 ➝ C$175.00
5/4/2023Morgan Stanley
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 UpgradeEqual Weight ➝ Overweight
4/25/2023Credit Suisse Group
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 Boost Target$126.00 ➝ $133.00+6.91%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Thursday at 10:37 PM ET.


Should I Buy Canadian National Railway Stock? CNI Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Please send any questions or comments about these Canadian National Railway pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Canadian National Railway
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Canadian National Railway:

  • Recent earnings report showed a strong performance with $1.72 earnings per share (EPS), exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.70, indicating robust profitability.
  • The company reported a revenue of $4.11 billion, surpassing estimates and reflecting a year-over-year growth of 3.1%, which suggests a positive trend in business operations.
  • Canadian National Railway has a high return on equity of 23.62%, demonstrating effective management and the ability to generate profits from shareholders' equity.
  • The current stock price is $111.43, which may present a buying opportunity for investors looking for value in the transportation sector.
  • The company maintains a healthy dividend yield of 2.19%, with a payout ratio of 39.90%, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders while retaining sufficient earnings for growth.

Canadian National Railway
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in Canadian National Railway for these reasons:

  • Several analysts have downgraded their price targets for the stock, with some firms setting a "sell" rating, which may indicate a lack of confidence in future performance.
  • The stock has experienced fluctuations, with a twelve-month low of $107.54, suggesting potential volatility that could concern risk-averse investors.
  • Despite a solid EPS, the price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74 may be considered high compared to industry averages, potentially indicating overvaluation.
  • The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, which, while manageable, suggests that it is close to a 1:1 ratio, indicating a reliance on debt financing that could pose risks in economic downturns.
  • Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a majority holding a "hold" rating, which may suggest uncertainty about the stock's future performance.

CNI Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 19 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Canadian National Railway is $125.86, with a high forecast of $143.00 and a low forecast of $116.00.

19 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Canadian National Railway in the last year. There is currently 1 sell rating, 11 hold ratings, 4 buy ratings and 3 strong buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "hold" CNI shares. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in CNI, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

According to analysts, Canadian National Railway's stock has a predicted upside of 22.60% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Canadian National Railway's stock had 5 upgrades and 1 downgrade by analysts.

Canadian National Railway has been rated by research analysts at Bank of America, Benchmark, Citigroup, Evercore ISI, Royal Bank of Canada, Sanford C. Bernstein, Stephens, Stifel Nicolaus, Susquehanna, The Goldman Sachs Group, Veritas, and Wells Fargo & Company in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Canadian National Railway less than other "transportation" companies. The consensus rating for Canadian National Railway is Hold while the average consensus rating for "transportation" companies is Moderate Buy. Learn more on how CNI compares to other companies.


This page (NYSE:CNI) was last updated on 12/26/2024 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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