Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Trading activity surged: Canadian National Railway shares saw approximately 4.91 million shares traded, up 216% from the prior session, while the stock rose to $124.19.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with nine analysts rating the stock a Buy and nine rating it a Hold. The average price target is $137.40, with Citigroup raising its target to $141.
• Financial performance and dividend remain key positives: Quarterly EPS of $1.50 exceeded estimates of $1.39, while revenue rose 11.3% year over year to $3.35 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.915 per share, equivalent to a 3.0% annual yield.

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR saw strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 4,909,980 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 216% from the previous session's volume of 1,554,704 shares.The stock last traded at $124.1890 and had previously closed at $123.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price target on Canadian National Railway from C$182.00 to C$185.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $124.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.40.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $125.68 and a 200-day moving average of $116.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $74.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.22% and a net margin of 26.92%.The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.915 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $3.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 639,137.0% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,955,711 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $844,353,000 after purchasing an additional 8,954,310 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth approximately $570,161,000. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 15,745,744 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,557,309,000 after buying an additional 5,210,403 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 6,329.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,030 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $122,050,000 after buying an additional 1,214,836 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,998,101 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $889,462,000 after buying an additional 1,182,106 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian National Railway Company 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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