Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) Rating Increased to Hold at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens upgraded Canadian National Railway to a hold rating, adding to a wave of mixed analyst calls on the stock.
• Other firms have recently raised their targets or ratings, including RBC and Desjardins, and MarketBeat now shows an average rating of Moderate Buy with a price target of C$159.62.
• The stock was down 0.3% on the day but has been trading near its 52-week high, with shares opening at C$173.82 and the company reporting solid recent earnings of C$1.80 per share.

Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR - Get Free Report) NYSE: CNI was upgraded by equities research analysts at Stephens to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CNR. ATB Cormark Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from C$146.00 to C$150.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Desjardins raised their target price on Canadian National Railway from C$156.00 to C$163.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Canadian National Railway from C$178.00 to C$195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Canadian National Railway from C$156.00 to C$163.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Evercore raised Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$159.62.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of TSE CNR opened at C$173.82 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$162.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$149.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 104.96, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Canadian National Railway has a 1 year low of C$126.11 and a 1 year high of C$174.57. The firm has a market cap of C$105.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.18.

Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR - Get Free Report) NYSE: CNI last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported C$1.80 earnings per share for the quarter. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 27.23% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of C$4.38 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 8.2610275 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Canadian National Railway

In other news, Director Justin M. Howell bought 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$152.74 per share, with a total value of C$53,459.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$53,459. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. 2.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Canadian National Railway Company Profile

CN powers the economy by safely transporting more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year for its customers. With its nearly 20,000-mile rail network and related transportation services, CN connects Canada's Eastern and Western coasts with the U.S. Midwest and the U.S. Gulf Coast, contributing to sustainable trade and the prosperity of the communities in which it operates since 1919.

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