Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares experienced an unusually high surge in trading activity — 5,895,084 shares changed hands mid-day, a 233% increase from the prior session, with the stock trading around $106.62.
• Analysts are split (ten Buy, ten Hold) with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.91, amid recent mixed revisions including upgrades (CIBC to $151) and cuts (Stephens to $100, Citigroup to $115).
• Fundamentals: market cap ~$66.24B and a PE of 19.9; Q4 EPS of $1.49 beat estimates and revenue rose 2.4% year-over-year, and the company announced a dividend increase to $0.915 quarterly ($3.66 annualized, ~3.4% yield).

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 5,895,084 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 233% from the previous session's volume of 1,769,759 shares.The stock last traded at $106.62 and had previously closed at $106.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised Canadian National Railway from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to an "outperformer" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $146.00 to $151.00 in a report on Friday, November 28th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $118.91.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $66.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's 50-day moving average is $102.98 and its 200 day moving average is $98.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 27.28% and a return on equity of 22.14%. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Canadian National Railway's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.915 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $3.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. High Point Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 124.0% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 83.3% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 330 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Canadian National Railway Company Profile

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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