Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Downgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $130.67 price target on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $146.25.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on CNI. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a hold rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark reissued a hold rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $148.03.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 0.7 %

CNI stock opened at $119.41 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $122.70 and its 200-day moving average is $125.92. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $103.96 and a twelve month high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 23.27%. Sell-side analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNI. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,903 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 53.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,879,091 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $311,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,244 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 11.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 52,638 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,702,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares during the period. Kampmann Melissa S. purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,111,000. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,266,000. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.