Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $120.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Canadian National Railway from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Canadian National Railway from $131.00 to $124.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.94.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE CNI opened at $99.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $106.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $98.96 and a 12 month high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.62% and a net margin of 31.65%. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.6108 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 92.5% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 133.8% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 3,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 92,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,820,000 after acquiring an additional 21,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 6,261 shares during the period. 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.