Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada to “Outperform”

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $129.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Canadian National Railway from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a neutral rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $126.02.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

CNI stock opened at $115.84 on Thursday. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $103.96 and a 1-year high of $134.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $115.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.59. The company has a market capitalization of $72.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 32.00%. Canadian National Railway’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.614 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 0.8% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,424 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,505,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,427 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 15.3% in 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 period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 2.5% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,156 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Canadian National Railway by 1.1% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 9,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.