Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $174.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CNI. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $130.67 to $126.29 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $133.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.94.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of Canadian National Railway stock opened at $99.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $62.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $106.41 and its 200 day moving average is $112.50.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its 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 return on equity of 23.62% and a net margin of 31.65%. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.31 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.6108 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 738.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 260 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 730 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.