Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 3,296,575 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 140% from the previous session’s volume of 1,375,428 shares.The stock last traded at $100.64 and had previously closed at $101.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CNI. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Securities raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $102.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.60. The stock has a market cap of $63.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 22.48%. Equities research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $563,048,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 46.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,737,322 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $789,030,000 after buying an additional 2,137,948 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter worth about $216,943,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,757,038 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,817,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,622 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $557,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380,554 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.