Sowell Financial Services LLC Takes Position in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,602 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CNI. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter worth $563,048,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,757,038 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,817,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934,622 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,874 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $557,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,554 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,822,063 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,199,680,000 after buying an additional 1,341,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,814,469 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $488,488,000 after buying an additional 1,102,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE:CNI traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $102.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,073,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,323,333. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Canadian National Railway Company has a 1-year low of $91.65 and a 1-year high of $123.96. The business's 50 day moving average price is $102.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.52. The firm has a market cap of $64.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.98.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The transportation company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.03. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.19% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.8875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a yield of 2.47%. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway's previous dividend of $0.29. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens increased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.52.

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.