Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.62

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 31st,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 0.6159 per share by the transportation company on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61.

Canadian National Railway has increased its dividend by an average of 10.9% per year over the last three years. Canadian National Railway has a payout ratio of 37.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Canadian National Railway to earn $5.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.35 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.1%.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CNI traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.58. The company had a trading volume of 2,311,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,330,649. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.64. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $98.96 and a 1-year high of $134.02. The firm has a market cap of $65.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.08.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.62% and a net margin of 31.65%. Research analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Securities raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.19.

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.