Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 720 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $4,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,552 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after buying an additional 4,698 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 363.6% during the third quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 153,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $18,012,000 after purchasing an additional 120,687 shares during the period. Partners Group Holding AG increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 16.3% during the third quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 406,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,571,000 after purchasing an additional 56,849 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 82.3% during the third 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. Finally, Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the fourth quarter worth about $436,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

CNI stock opened at $96.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $93.64 and a twelve month high of $132.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 22.48%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is 47.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CNI. TD Securities upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.