Analysts Set Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Price Target at $125.86

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $125.86.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Veritas upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNI opened at $106.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $67.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $105.28 and a 12 month high of $134.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.24.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.62% and a net margin of 31.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.6108 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is presently 39.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Canadian National Railway in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 159.1% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 738.7% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 260 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Company 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.