Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Canadian National Railway to $124 and kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 10.7% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: Royal Bank of Canada sharply boosted its target to $178 with an "Outperform," but MarketBeat's consensus remains a "Hold" with a $122.04 target and a nearly even split of 9 Buys vs. 10 Holds.
• CN's Q1 showed an EPS beat ($1.49 vs. $1.43), management highlighted operational strength and raised the dividend, while the stock trades around $112 with a market cap of ~$68.2B and about 80.7% institutional ownership.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Citigroup from $123.00 to $124.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the transportation company's stock. Citigroup's price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.71% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $122.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens cut their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.04.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE:CNI traded up $3.92 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $112.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,744,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,147. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.25. Canadian National Railway has a 12-month low of $90.74 and a 12-month high of $115.80. The stock has a market cap of $68.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,646,922 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,437,679,000 after acquiring an additional 346,670 shares during the period. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 15,745,744 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,557,309,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210,403 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 14,201,675 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,338,948,000 after acquiring an additional 42,907 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 13,894,922 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,310,600,000 after acquiring an additional 157,000 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,998,101 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $889,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182,106 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Canadian National Railway News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target sharply to $178 and kept an "Outperform" rating — implies sizable upside from current levels and likely supported buying interest. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results were broadly constructive: CN reported operational and commercial strength, volumes helped offset mixed segment trends, and management highlighted performance improvement. This framing supports expectations for steady cash generation. CN Reports Strong First Quarter Operational and Commercial Performance
• Positive Sentiment: CN posted Q1 results that largely met/beat estimates on key metrics and noted year-over-year revenue growth in some reports; management also raised the dividend — a clear cash-return signal to investors. Zacks: Q1 Earnings Meet Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.915 (paid June 30; record June 9) — maintains ~3.3% yield and underlines shareholder return focus. That supports income-oriented and dividend-growth investors. CN Declares Second-Quarter 2026 Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: CN filed a shelf prospectus/registration statement enabling issuance of debt securities in Canada and the U.S. over the next 37 months — a routine funding mechanism but worth watching for potential uses (refinancing, capex, M&A, or buybacks). CN Files Shelf Prospectus
• Neutral Sentiment: Company published its Q1 results slide deck and earnings presentation — useful for assessing segment trends and management commentary but not an immediate catalyst by itself. Earnings Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays raised its target slightly to $99 but kept an "Equal Weight" rating — that target implies downside from current levels and signals some analyst caution about near-term upside. Benzinga

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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