Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 1,102,977 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,814,469 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,102,977 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $488,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 332 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital downgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.02.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of CNI opened at $97.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $93.64 and a 12 month high of $132.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is 47.66%.

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.