Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Receives "Outperform" Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $163.00 price target on the transportation company's stock.

CNI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens lifted their price target on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $104.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.52.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of CNI stock traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $104.92. 2,828,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,335,058. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $100.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.14. Canadian National Railway has a 12-month low of $91.65 and a 12-month high of $126.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.8875 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway's previous dividend of $0.29. This represents a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Militia Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 1st quarter worth $1,920,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 112.5% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 49,745 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,840,000 after acquiring an additional 26,331 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,514 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 1st quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 975,049 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $95,028,000 after purchasing an additional 292,704 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company's stock.

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.