Canadian National Railway Company $CNI Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has significantly decreased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 67.5%, selling over 729,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Canadian National Railway recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.6507 per share, yielding approximately 2.8% annually.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a revenue of $3.14 billion, which fell short of analyst expectations, and a 26.63% net margin.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 67.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 351,311 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 729,677 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.06% of Canadian National Railway worth $34,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 21,387 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 44.2% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 346 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 0.9% during the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 12,293 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 2.1% during the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 5,409 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 5.7% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,561 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 0.1%

Canadian National Railway stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.79. The stock had a trading volume of 603,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,144. The company has a market cap of $58.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.94. 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's 50 day moving average price is $96.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.57. Canadian National Railway Company has a 52 week low of $91.07 and a 52 week high of $121.12.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 an increase from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Canadian National Railway's payout ratio is presently 50.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CNI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.36.

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.