Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Upgraded at Veritas

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

CNI has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Canadian National Railway from $131.00 to $124.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $130.67 to $126.29 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.18.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

CNI opened at $110.97 on Wednesday. Canadian National Railway has a 1 year low of $103.96 and a 1 year high of $134.02. The company has a market capitalization of $70.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.53. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.02. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.49% and a net margin of 31.65%. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Canadian National Railway’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.6108 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian National Railway

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNI. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 159.1% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 738.7% during the 3rd 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 bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in Canadian National Railway in the first quarter valued at about $64,000. 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.