Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Eight brokerages rate Canadian National Railway a buy and eight recommend holding, with an average 12-month price target of $132.12.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: Quarterly revenue rose 11.3% year over year to $3.35 billion, while EPS of $1.50 topped the $1.39 consensus estimate.
• Investors continue to receive capital returns: CN declared a quarterly dividend of $0.915 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.66 payout and a 2.8% yield; institutional investors own 80.74% of the stock.

Shares of Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $132.1236.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CNI. Stephens upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Evercore raised Canadian National Railway from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $124.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Canadian National Railway from $113.88 to $117.36 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Tuesday, July 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,646,922 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,437,679,000 after acquiring an additional 346,670 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 15,745,744 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,557,309,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210,403 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 1.1% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 13,894,922 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,310,600,000 after acquiring an additional 157,000 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 2.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,077,518 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $934,488,000 after purchasing an additional 173,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,998,101 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $889,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182,106 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 0.0%

CNI stock opened at $129.53 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $78.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $120.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $90.74 and a 12 month high of $131.55.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 22.33%. Canadian National Railway's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.915 dividend. This represents a $3.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.55%.

Key Headlines Impacting Canadian National Railway

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

• Positive Sentiment: CNI posted second-quarter earnings of $2.08 per share, well above the $1.39 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 11.3% year over year, signaling stronger operational performance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its 2026 guidance and increased its volume outlook, which suggests management expects demand trends and network utilization to remain supportive. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: CN also announced a quarterly dividend of C$0.915 per share, reinforcing its capital-return profile for income-focused investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: CN and Union Pacific announced an agreement to improve North American rail connectivity, which could create new cross-border service opportunities and expand customer access. Article Title

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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