National Bank Financial Predicts CNI FY2024 Earnings

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) – Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial cut their FY2024 earnings estimates for Canadian National Railway in a report released on Monday, January 13th. National Bank Financial analyst C. Doerksen now expects that the transportation company will post earnings per share of $4.97 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $5.21. The consensus estimate for Canadian National Railway’s current full-year earnings is $5.31 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Canadian National Railway’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.32 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.32 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.37 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.57 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.47 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.13 EPS.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on CNI. Evercore ISI raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Veritas raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.77.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

NYSE CNI opened at $100.73 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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 has a 12-month low of $98.96 and a 12-month high of $134.02. The firm has a market capitalization 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 Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.6108 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 22.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 127,342 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,048,000 after acquiring an additional 23,150 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 10.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 942,229 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $111,306,000 after acquiring an additional 85,298 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 9.5% in the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 7,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $854,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 4.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,102,997 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $130,297,000 after acquiring an additional 48,984 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the second quarter worth about $1,725,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.