Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 10,496 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 52.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,442 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,496 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $3,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNI. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 129.6% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 12,311 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 6,950 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 1.0% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,213 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 4.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,903 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 17.2% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 26.0% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 828,852 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $90,004,000 after acquiring an additional 170,910 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of CNI stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $118.26. 72,665 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,055,112. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $75.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $103.96 and a twelve month high of $134.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.10.

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

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Canadian National Railway in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Canadian National Railway in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. National Bank Financial raised Canadian National Railway from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Canadian National Railway from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.95.

Canadian National Railway 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.