Headlands Technologies LLC Has $1.13 Million Stake in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC reduced its stake in the Canadian National Railway Company (CNI) by 49.2%, now holding 11,597 shares worth approximately $1.13 million after selling 11,233 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Royal Bank of Canada and Price T Rowe Associates, increased their holdings in CNI, with Royal Bank alone purchasing an additional 1.93 million shares and reaching a total of $2.82 billion in holdings.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.6507 per share, signifying a 2.8% annual yield and reflecting a stable financial position with a payout ratio of 49.81%.

Headlands Technologies LLC cut its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 49.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,597 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 11,233 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $1,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNI. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in 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 worth $2,171,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 44.2% in 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 last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 0.9% in 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 last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 7,953 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 2.1% in 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 last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. National Bank Financial downgraded Canadian National Railway from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Canadian National Railway from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Canadian National Railway from $106.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.36.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNI traded up $0.78 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.02. 333,994 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,475,699. Canadian National Railway Company has a 1-year low of $91.65 and a 1-year high of $121.12. The company has a market capitalization of $58.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $101.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.71% and a net margin of 26.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Canadian National Railway's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

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

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.