Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.62 Per Share

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 31st,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders 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 boost 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 dividend payout ratio of 37.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Stock Down 0.6 %

CNI stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $104.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,311,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,330,649. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $104.62 and its 200-day moving average is $111.08. 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 has a 12 month low of $98.96 and a 12 month high of $134.02. The company has a market cap of $65.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.