Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $1.37 Per Share, National Bank Financial Forecasts

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) – Equities researchers at National Bank Financial cut their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Canadian National Railway in a report issued on Tuesday, April 23rd. National Bank Financial analyst C. Doerksen now expects that the transportation company will earn $1.37 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.39. The consensus estimate for Canadian National Railway’s current full-year earnings is $5.93 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Canadian National Railway’s FY2025 earnings at $6.63 EPS.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.27% and a net margin of 32.81%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CNI. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Canadian National Railway from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna Bancshares boosted their price target on Canadian National Railway from $115.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Canadian National Railway from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.05.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of CNI opened at $125.30 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $129.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.34. Canadian National Railway has a 52-week low of $103.96 and a 52-week high of $134.02. The firm has a market cap of $80.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is currently 39.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 33.5% in the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,998 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 3,011 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 5.0% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,602 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. YCG LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. YCG LLC now owns 250,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,418,000 after purchasing an additional 14,249 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 669,988 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,171,000 after purchasing an additional 46,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the third quarter worth $1,266,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by 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.