Canadian National Railway Company (CNI) - What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Eighteen brokerages give Canadian National Railway a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, split evenly between buy and hold recommendations, with an average 12-month price target of $137.49.
• Institutional ownership remains high: Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of CNI shares, with several major investors recently increasing their positions.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: CNI reported quarterly EPS of $1.50 versus the $1.39 consensus and revenue of $3.35 billion, up 11.3% year over year. The company also pays an annualized dividend of $3.66 per share, yielding about 3.1%.

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.49.

CNI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on Canadian National Railway from C$182.00 to C$185.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Stephens upgraded Canadian National Railway to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Canadian National Railway from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNI. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,077,518 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $934,488,000 after acquiring an additional 173,894 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,165,148 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $609,582,000 after purchasing an additional 173,410 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.8% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,297,955 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $514,643,000 after purchasing an additional 116,530 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 17.2% during the first quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 3,426,466 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $352,527,000 after purchasing an additional 502,424 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 26.3% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,761,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $180,986,000 after purchasing an additional 367,100 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Canadian National Railway stock opened at $117.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $71.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $122.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.36. Canadian National Railway has a 52-week low of $90.74 and a 52-week high of $131.55.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 22.22%. Canadian National Railway's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of C$0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $3.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio is 46.10%.

About Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway Company NYSE: CNI is a transportation and logistics company that operates a major freight rail network in Canada and the United States. Its network connects the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts, serving ports, industrial centers, agricultural regions and major population markets.

CN transports a broad range of commodities and manufactured goods, including forest products, grain and fertilizers, coal, metals and minerals, petroleum and chemicals, automotive products, and consumer goods.

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