Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Stock

Key Points

• Barclays raised its target for Canadian National Railway (CNI) from $98 to $99 and kept an "equal weight" rating, a target that implies roughly a 10.66% downside from the stock's current price.
• The stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $119.24 (nine Buy, ten Hold), though Bank of America recently upgraded CNI to a Buy and lifted its target to $122.
• CN beat Q1 EPS estimates ($1.49 vs. $1.43) with modest revenue growth and declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.9150 (about a 3.4% yield), even as analysts note mixed segment trends and cost pressures.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR had its target price raised by investment analysts at Barclays from $98.00 to $99.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the transportation company's stock. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential downside of 10.66% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CNI. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group cut Canadian National Railway from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $119.24.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE CNI traded up $2.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $110.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 969,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,652,831. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $107.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.25. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $90.74 and a twelve month high of $115.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.06. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 27.28%.The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. High Point Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Canadian National Railway

Here are the key news stories impacting Canadian National Railway this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results broadly in line-to-better-than expectations: CN reported first-quarter revenue around $3.1B and earnings that met or beat some street estimates; management described strong operational and commercial performance with volume growth offsetting mixed segment trends. Canadian National Q1 Earnings Meet Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase / yield: CN’s board approved a quarterly dividend of C$0.9150 (payable June 30; ex-dividend June 9), implying ~3.4% yield — a clear signal of cash-flow confidence that supports income-focused investors. CN Declares Second-Quarter 2026 Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Balance-sheet/financing flexibility: CN filed a shelf prospectus/SEC registration allowing issuance of debt securities over the next 37 months — gives the company funding optionality for capex, M&A or refinancing but could lead to additional leverage if used. CN Files Shelf Prospectus Qualifying the Issuance of Debt Securities
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials available: The company posted its press release, slide deck and conference-call materials for the quarter — useful for digging into segment trends, unit volumes and margin drivers. View Press Release / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Lingering demand and cost concerns: analysts flagged pockets of weak freight demand and ongoing cost pressure in parts of the franchise; several notes emphasized mixed segment results that could cap near-term margin expansion. CNI to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock?

About Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway Company NYSE: CNI is a Class I freight railway that operates an integrated rail network across Canada and the United States. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, CN provides long-haul freight transportation and related logistics services that connect major ports, industrial centers and inland markets throughout North America. Its transcontinental system enables cross-border movement of goods and supports supply chains that span coast-to-coast in Canada and into the central and eastern United States.

CN's core business is the railborne transportation of a broad mix of commodities, including intermodal container traffic, forest and paper products, grain and other agricultural products, metallurgical and industrial products, petroleum and chemical products, coal and automotive shipments.

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