Pacifica Partners Inc. Grows Stock Position in Canadian National Railway Company $CNI

Key Points

• Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in Canadian National Railway Company by 17.1%, acquiring an additional 3,515 shares, bringing its total holdings to $2,495,000.
• Various institutional investors have modified their holdings in CNI, with 80.74% of the stock currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Canadian National Railway recently announced a dividend increase to $0.6507 per share, reflecting a 2.8% yield, up from its previous dividend of $0.62.

Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 17.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,033 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 3,515 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc.'s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $2,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNI. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the second quarter worth about $310,489,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,296,701 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $518,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,617 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the first quarter valued at approximately $112,216,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 20.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,638,443 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $646,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 39.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,664,618 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $259,694,000 after purchasing an additional 755,518 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Canadian National Railway from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.36.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 1.3%

Canadian National Railway stock traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $92.13. 1,889,006 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,810,321. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $95.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.26. Canadian National Railway Company has a 12 month low of $91.07 and a 12 month high of $118.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

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

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.6507 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.19%.

Canadian National Railway Profile

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.