Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Receives $134.33 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $134.47.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CNI. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna raised their target price on Canadian National Railway from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Susquehanna Bancshares increased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $115.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter worth approximately $769,556,000. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 8,401.1% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 4,007,186 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $503,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,960,049 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,623,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $957,845,000 after buying an additional 2,951,506 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the third quarter valued at about $273,243,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,868,740 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,761,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907,938 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE:CNI opened at $124.78 on Tuesday. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $103.96 and a twelve month high of $134.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.22.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.17% and a net margin of 32.81%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

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.