Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Declares Dividend of $0.89

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR declared a dividend on Tuesday, June 3rd, investing.com reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of 0.8875 per share by the transportation company on Monday, June 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This is a 208.2% increase from Canadian National Railway's previous dividend of $0.29.

Canadian National Railway has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Canadian National Railway has a payout ratio of 41.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Canadian National Railway to earn $6.21 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.58 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.5%.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE:CNI traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.18. The stock had a trading volume of 920,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,329,823. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $91.65 and a twelve month high of $126.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $66.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.98. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $100.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.13.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The transportation company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.03. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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 target price on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Susquehanna upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $104.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.52.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Canadian National Railway stock. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,194 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $311,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.