Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 346,670 Shares of Canadian National Railway Company $CNI

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 1.4%, buying 346,670 shares to hold 24,646,922 shares (about 4.01% of the company), valued at roughly $2.44 billion.
• CN reported Q1 EPS of $1.49, topping estimates of $1.43, but revenue was weak/flat which produced mixed analyst takes and sent the stock down about 5.9%.
• CN declared a quarterly dividend of $0.915 (ex-dividend June 9, payable June 30), equal to $3.66 annually (~3.4% yield); analysts are split with an average rating of "Hold" and a $119.14 price target.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,646,922 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 346,670 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 4.01% of Canadian National Railway worth $2,437,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the third quarter valued at $28,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 83.3% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 330 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the third quarter valued at $51,000. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CNI shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised Canadian National Railway from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $122.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut Canadian National Railway from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $119.14.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 5.9%

NYSE:CNI opened at $108.07 on Thursday. Canadian National Railway Company has a twelve month low of $90.74 and a twelve month high of $115.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.25. The company has a market cap of $65.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 27.28% and a return on equity of 22.14%. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $0.915 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $3.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.36%.

Key Stories Impacting Canadian National Railway

Here are the key news stories impacting Canadian National Railway this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a quarterly dividend of C$0.915 per share (annualized yield ~3.4%), payable June 30 to holders of record June 9 — supports income appeal for investors. CN Declares Second-Quarter 2026 Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Company press release framed the quarter as showing "strong first‑quarter operational and commercial performance," signaling management confidence on operations even as top‑line pressures persist. CN Reports Strong First Quarter Operational and Commercial Performance
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings coverage is mixed: some outlets report EPS roughly in line with consensus (~$1.31) while another summary shows a larger beat — revenue trends are weak to flat (quarterly revenue roughly flat to down ~0.5% year‑over‑year), creating ambiguity on the quality of the beat. Investors typically penalize unclear or mixed prints. Canadian National (CNI) Meets Q1 Earnings Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Press materials and analyst snapshots (Chron, Zacks) offer varying takes on key metrics — useful for digging into volumes (grain strength vs. soft freight) and margin drivers, but they don't point to a clear catalyst in either direction by themselves. CN: Q1 Earnings Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: CN filed a shelf prospectus/SEC registration allowing issuance of debt securities over the next 37 months — while routine, markets can view new debt capacity as dilution of credit or a sign of upcoming financing needs, which can pressure the stock. CN Files Shelf Prospectus Qualifying the Issuance of Debt Securities
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst previews flagged lingering weak freight demand and cost pressures; these operational concerns likely amplified the negative reaction given mixed top‑line/metric signals. CNI to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock?

Canadian National Railway Profile

Canadian National Railway Company NYSE: CNI is a Class I freight railway that operates an integrated rail network across Canada and the United States. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, CN provides long-haul freight transportation and related logistics services that connect major ports, industrial centers and inland markets throughout North America. Its transcontinental system enables cross-border movement of goods and supports supply chains that span coast-to-coast in Canada and into the central and eastern United States.

CN's core business is the railborne transportation of a broad mix of commodities, including intermodal container traffic, forest and paper products, grain and other agricultural products, metallurgical and industrial products, petroleum and chemical products, coal and automotive shipments.

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