StockNews.com Lowers Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CNI. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Canadian National Railway in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a hold rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $149.05.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

NYSE CNI opened at $127.52 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $127.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.77. 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 has a market capitalization of $81.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.01. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 23.27%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 23.1% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 26,435 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,482,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 39.6% in the 1st quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 6,311 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group boosted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 6,733 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Montchanin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 35.0% in the 1st quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,613 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,559,000 after purchasing an additional 8,969 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Canadian National Railway Company 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.