Balentine LLC Invests $220,000 in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Balentine LLC purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,754 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,566 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 27,356 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 12,852 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 28,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,608,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNI. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.05.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

NYSE CNI opened at $126.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $80.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.89. Canadian National Railway has a 52 week low of $103.96 and a 52 week high of $134.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.78.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 23.27%. Research analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is 39.71%.

Canadian National Railway 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.