Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada to Outperform

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has C$179.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of C$169.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Canadian National Railway from C$179.00 to C$173.00 in a report on Wednesday. National Bankshares reduced their price target on Canadian National Railway from C$190.00 to C$186.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup upgraded Canadian National Railway to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from C$187.00 to C$180.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from C$165.00 to C$162.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of C$175.14.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of TSE CNR opened at C$158.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$99.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$157.06 and a 200-day moving average of C$165.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 107.62, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Canadian National Railway has a fifty-two week low of C$143.13 and a fifty-two week high of C$181.34.

Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported C$1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.93 by C($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of C$4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$4.40 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 8.5979325 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.845 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $3.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is 40.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Canadian National Railway news, Director Susan C. Jones purchased 1,230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$162.05 per share, for a total transaction of C$199,324.82. In other news, Director Josephine Ann Marie Depass Olsovsky acquired 2,610 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$115.29 per share, for a total transaction of C$300,906.90. Also, Director Susan C. Jones acquired 1,230 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$162.05 per share, with a total value of C$199,324.82. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 4,383 shares of company stock worth $585,772. Corporate insiders own 1.69% of the company’s stock.

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.