Synovus Financial Corp Increases Position in Canadian National Railway Company $CNI

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 40.2% during the first quarter, owning a total of 19,405 shares valued at approximately $1.89 million.
• Canadian National Railway has seen varied analyst ratings with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.36.
• The company announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.6507 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.7%, payable on September 29th.

Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 40.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,405 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 5,565 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $1,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 233.3% during the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 25,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,537,000 after buying an additional 17,500 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the fourth quarter worth approximately $875,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 31.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 718 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 3.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 94,400 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 60.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,729 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,671 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CNI shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI cut Canadian National Railway from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $106.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Canadian National Railway to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned 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 has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.36.

Canadian National Railway Trading Up 0.8%

Canadian National Railway stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $96.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 974,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,636,694. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.94. Canadian National Railway Company has a 1 year low of $91.65 and a 1 year high of $121.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $98.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last issued 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). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.34 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 21.71% and a net margin of 26.63%.The company's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.6507 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.