Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 53.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 616,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 709,994 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Canadian National Railway worth $62,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 80.2% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 332 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CNI. TD Securities raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $112.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.36.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE CNI opened at $96.61 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Canadian National Railway has a fifty-two week low of $93.64 and a fifty-two week high of $132.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.78. The stock has a market cap of $60.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6159 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.66%.

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.