Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.89 Per Share

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) announced a dividend on Tuesday, June 3rd, investing.com reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of 0.8875 per share by the transportation company on Monday, June 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This is a 208.2% increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous dividend of $0.29.

Canadian National Railway has a payout ratio of 41.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Canadian National Railway to earn $6.21 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.58 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.5%.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE CNI opened at $104.92 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $101.11 and its 200-day moving average is $102.12. Canadian National Railway has a 12-month low of $91.65 and a 12-month high of $126.41. 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 firm has a market cap of $65.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.98.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The transportation company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.03. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 22.48%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $122.00 to $114.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $104.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.52.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway stock. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,000. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.