Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $119.98, but opened at $113.14. Canadian National Railway shares last traded at $114.86, with a volume of 656,459 shares trading hands.

The transportation company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 32.00%. The business had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Canadian National Railway’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.614 dividend. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on CNI shares. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $146.25 to $130.67 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNI. Bfsg LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 110.5% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 200 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 766.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 234 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 2.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.52 and its 200-day moving average is $125.55. The company has a market cap of $71.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.89.

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.