Zacks Research Issues Positive Forecast for CNI Earnings

Key Points

• Analysts at Zacks Research have raised their Q4 2025 earnings per share estimate for Canadian National Railway to $1.54, up from a prior estimate of $1.48, indicating a positive outlook for the company's performance.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6507, an increase from the previous $0.62, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.8% and a dividend payout ratio of approximately 49.81%.
• Despite a missed earnings report for the last quarter, Canadian National Railway maintains a strong market presence with a current market cap of $58.71 billion and was subject to various analysts' ratings, including upgrades and downgrades in price targets.

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR - Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Canadian National Railway in a report issued on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research analyst M. Basu now expects that the transportation company will earn $1.54 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.48. The consensus estimate for Canadian National Railway's current full-year earnings is $5.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Canadian National Railway's Q1 2026 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.52 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.06 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.84 EPS.

CNI has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Argus raised Canadian National Railway to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on Canadian National Railway from $106.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens increased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.36.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CNI traded up $0.09 on Tuesday, hitting $92.58. The company had a trading volume of 933,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,612. Canadian National Railway has a 12-month low of $91.65 and a 12-month high of $121.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last issued its earnings results 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). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 21.71% and a net margin of 26.63%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Canadian National Railway's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Canadian National Railway's payout ratio is currently 49.81%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian National Railway

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNI. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the second quarter valued at approximately $310,489,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake 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 valued at $2,817,616,000 after buying an additional 1,934,622 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Canadian National Railway by 37.3% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,296,701 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $518,260,000 after buying an additional 1,439,617 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Canadian National Railway by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,874 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $557,278,000 after buying an additional 1,380,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in Canadian National Railway by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,822,063 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,199,680,000 after buying an additional 1,341,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company's stock.

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.