Stifel Nicolaus Lowers Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Price Target to $115.00

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) had its price objective cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $125.00 to $115.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on CNI. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $122.00 to $114.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $112.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.36.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of CNI stock opened at $98.76 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $99.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.62. Canadian National Railway has a 52 week low of $91.65 and a 52 week high of $130.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNI. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,757,038 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,817,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,622 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,986,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,334,251,000 after purchasing an additional 101,228 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,822,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,199,680,000 after buying an additional 1,341,133 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,768,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,194,443,000 after buying an additional 309,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd grew its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 9,159,075 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $926,573,000 after buying an additional 422,078 shares in the last quarter. 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.