Canadian National Railway Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CNI)

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 4,896 call options on the company. This is an increase of 768% compared to the typical volume of 564 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $122.00 to $114.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $115.00 to $113.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. TD Securities upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $121.19.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 71.0% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,869 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 52,398 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Harrington Investments INC boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 2.1% in the first quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 19,929 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,942,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 5,933 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atwater Malick LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 1.7% during the first quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 71,274 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,946,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 4.1 %

NYSE:CNI traded up $3.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,712,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,273,766. 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 $62.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93. Canadian National Railway has a fifty-two week low of $91.65 and a fifty-two week high of $130.63. The business's 50 day moving average is $99.36 and its 200 day moving average is $104.90.

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 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 predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.6159 dividend. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.66%.

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.