LPL Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Canadian National Railway Company by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, now owning over 105,000 shares valued at approximately $10.3 million.
• The company missed analysts' earnings estimates for the last quarter, reporting $1.35 EPS against a consensus of $1.37 and a revenue of $3.14 billion, which was below expectations of $4.34 billion.
• Canadian National Railway recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.6507, up from $0.62, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.8% with a payout ratio of 49.81%.

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,638 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,432 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $10,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,757,038 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,817,616,000 after buying an additional 1,934,622 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,874 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $557,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,554 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,822,063 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,199,680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,133 shares during the period. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new position in Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,283,000. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 1,101.9% during the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 553,290 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $53,897,000 after purchasing an additional 507,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on CNI shares. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.36.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 0.7%

Canadian National Railway stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $93.23. 1,549,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,482,887. 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 capitalization of $58.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.94. Canadian National Railway Company has a 52-week low of $91.65 and a 52-week high of $121.12. The business's 50-day moving average price is $101.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.89.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.34 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.63% and a return on equity of 21.71%. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.6507 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.19%.

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.