Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 179,261 Shares of Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stock holdings in Canadian National Railway by 0.8%, owning approximately 23.17 million shares valued at over $2.25 billion as of the end of the latest quarter.
• The company reported a second quarter EPS of $1.35, falling short of the $1.37 consensus estimate, with a revenue of $3.14 billion—down 1.3% year-over-year.
• Canadian National Railway declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6507 per share, representing a yield of 2.8%, up from its previous dividend of $0.62.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,165,939 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 179,261 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 3.69% of Canadian National Railway worth $2,254,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 7.5% during 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. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 11,798,566 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,148,008,000 after acquiring an additional 30,066 shares in the last quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 9,159,075 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $926,573,000 after acquiring an additional 422,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,571,806 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $834,129,000 after acquiring an additional 505,588 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE:CNI traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,365,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,860,021. Canadian National Railway Company has a 1-year low of $91.65 and a 1-year high of $121.12. The firm'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 current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.63% and a return on equity of 21.71%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CNI. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.36.

Canadian National Railway 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.