Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 92,300 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,100 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $10,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 2nd quarter worth $134,096,000. Sterling Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 17.2% during the third quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC now owns 36,279 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,250,000 after buying an additional 5,329 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the second quarter valued at about $1,321,000. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 13.3% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 5,443,461 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $643,503,000 after acquiring an additional 638,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 26,435 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,482,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Canadian National Railway stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $108.53. 686,168 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,115,138. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $114.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.68. Canadian National Railway has a 12-month low of $107.54 and a 12-month high of $134.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $68.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.89.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.62% and a net margin of 31.65%. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.6108 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Canadian National Railway from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Canadian National Railway from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $130.67 to $126.29 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $129.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $125.48.

Canadian National Railway Company Profile

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.