Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Buys 353,358 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. raised its stake in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 71.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 844,974 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 353,358 shares during the quarter. Canadian National Railway comprises 3.1% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. owned 0.13% of Canadian National Railway worth $85,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNI. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,278 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 41.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,845 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the third quarter valued at about $261,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Canadian National Railway by 3.4% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 114,124 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,379,000 after acquiring an additional 3,774 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Canadian National Railway by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 123,445 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,462,000 after purchasing an additional 24,753 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Securities upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

CNI stock opened at $98.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $61.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.88. Canadian National Railway has a 1 year low of $93.64 and a 1 year high of $132.73.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. Research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.66%.

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.