Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Upgraded at TD Securities

TD Securities upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Canadian National Railway from $130.67 to $126.29 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Canadian National Railway from $131.00 to $124.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.77.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNI opened at $100.73 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $63.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.91. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $98.96 and a twelve month high of $134.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $106.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.6108 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 542.0% in the fourth quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 278,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,213,000 after purchasing an additional 235,085 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 72.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 4,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,943,000. Cvfg LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 490,939 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,853,000 after acquiring an additional 11,004 shares in the last quarter. 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.