Sanford C. Bernstein Lowers Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) to Market Perform

Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $130.67 price objective on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $146.25.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CNI. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Canadian National Railway from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Canadian National Railway in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a hold rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. National Bank Financial raised Canadian National Railway from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $148.03.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 2.6 %

CNI stock opened at $118.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $103.96 and a twelve month high of $134.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $122.75 and its 200-day moving average is $125.97.

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

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is presently 39.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth approximately $769,556,000. Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 8,401.1% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 4,007,186 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $503,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,960,049 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 63.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,623,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $957,845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,951,506 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 92.4% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,505,860 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $593,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,820 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,868,740 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,761,473,000 after buying an additional 1,907,938 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.