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

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $120.36.

A number of research firms recently commented on CNI. Citigroup increased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $117.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Canadian National Railway from $104.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of CNI stock opened at $101.89 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $102.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $63.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.98. Canadian National Railway has a one year low of $91.65 and a one year high of $123.96.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The transportation company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 26.19%. The business's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.8875 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway's previous dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNI. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 233.3% during the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 25,000 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 17,500 shares during the period. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth $875,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 60.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,729 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,671 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,368 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,957 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

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.

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