Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Price Target to $171.00

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) had its price objective reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $174.00 to $171.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the transportation company’s stock.

CNI has been the subject of several other research reports. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Veritas raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 0.6 %

Canadian National Railway stock opened at $104.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $65.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.96. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $98.96 and a 1-year high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 23.62%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 4.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,562,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,175,935,000 after buying an additional 790,420 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 46.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,737,322 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $789,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137,948 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 5,624,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $570,550,000 after acquiring an additional 142,070 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,119,674 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $519,843,000 after purchasing an additional 571,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,962,972 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $464,002,000 after purchasing an additional 202,303 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.