Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Acquires 1,148,569 Shares of Canadian National Railway Company $CNI

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Canadian National Railway Company by 20.9% in Q1, owning about 1.06% of the company valued at approximately $646.98 million.
• Canadian National Railway recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.6507 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.7%.
• Despite the increase in dividend, the company's Q2 earnings missed estimates with an EPS of $1.35, compared to the expected $1.37, alongside a revenue drop of 1.3% year-over-year.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 20.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,638,443 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,148,569 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 1.06% of Canadian National Railway worth $646,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 346 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 354.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 427 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 1,020.0% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 560 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian National Railway from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $106.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.36.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

NYSE:CNI traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $95.83. 975,579 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,503,235. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $59.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.94. Canadian National Railway Company has a 12 month low of $91.65 and a 12 month high of $121.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.68 and a 200 day moving average of $100.09.

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

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.6507 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.81%.

Canadian National Railway Company 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.