Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 21,100 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,100 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $10,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 159.1% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 738.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 260 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNI. Veritas upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $131.00 to $124.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Benchmark restated 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, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.48.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of CNI opened at $108.90 on Monday. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $107.54 and a 12 month high of $134.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.04 and its 200-day moving average is $117.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 23.62%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.6108 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.26%.

About Canadian National Railway

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.