Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Veritas

Veritas upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.18.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

CNI opened at $110.83 on Wednesday. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $103.96 and a twelve month high of $134.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $116.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.72.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 23.49%. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.6108 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 159.1% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 738.7% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 260 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 1st quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.