Eastern Bank Acquires New Shares in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Eastern Bank bought a new position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,084 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 766.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 234 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Canadian National Railway by 6.6% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 3,161 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stokes Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 51,379 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,767,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

CNI opened at $111.99 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $70.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.88. Canadian National Railway has a 1 year low of $103.96 and a 1 year high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 32.00% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.6108 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is 39.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CNI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $130.67 to $126.29 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Canadian National Railway from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.10.

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.