Vestcor Inc Takes Position in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has invested $1.38 million in Canadian National Railway, acquiring 14,200 shares in the first quarter.
• Canadian National Railway has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.6507, reflecting a boost from the previous $0.62 and an annualized yield of 2.8%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a missed consensus estimate with earnings per share of $1.35 compared to expectations of $1.37.

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 14,200 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,384,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 233.3% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 25,000 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,537,000 after buying an additional 17,500 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX acquired a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter worth approximately $875,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 31.3% in the 1st 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. boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 3.7% in the 1st 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 boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 60.6% in the 1st 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. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Canadian National Railway stock traded down $0.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $92.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,049,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,892. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $102.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.25. Canadian National Railway Company has a 1-year low of $91.65 and a 1-year high of $121.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Canadian National Railway's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.6507 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CNI. National Bank Financial cut shares of Canadian National Railway from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stephens raised 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.36.

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.