ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Acquires Shares of 11,224 Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired 11,224 shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) valued at approximately $1,092,000, indicating increased institutional interest in the transportation sector.
• Canadian National Railway reported a missed earnings expectation of $1.35 EPS for the last quarter, falling short of the anticipated $1.37, alongside revenue that was down 1.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.6507 per share, raising its annualized yield to 2.8% with a payout ratio of 49.81%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 11,224 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,092,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 25,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 17,500 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the fourth quarter valued at about $875,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 31.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 718 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 3.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 94,400 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $9,185,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 60.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,729 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,671 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 0.7%

CNI stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,365,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,482,150. Canadian National Railway Company has a 52-week low of $91.65 and a 52-week high of $121.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $101.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.81. The firm has a market cap of $58.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.02). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.63% and a return on equity of 21.71%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Canadian National Railway's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.6507 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Canadian National Railway's payout ratio is presently 49.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CNI shares. National Bank Financial downgraded Canadian National Railway from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.36.

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.