Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CNR. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from C$169.00 to C$179.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Canadian National Railway from C$187.00 to C$180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Canadian National Railway from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. National Bankshares cut their price target on Canadian National Railway from C$181.00 to C$178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Veritas upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$171.07.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian National Railway stock opened at C$153.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$96.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 107.62, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$156.77 and a 200 day moving average of C$161.87. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of C$149.22 and a 12 month high of C$181.34.

Canadian National Railway Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.845 dividend. This represents a $3.38 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is 40.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Canadian National Railway news, Senior Officer Ghislain Houle sold 5,741 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$150.82, for a total value of C$865,844.99. Also, Director David Lund Freeman acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$152.57 per share, with a total value of C$152,572.80. Insiders have purchased 4,559 shares of company stock worth $714,135 in the last ninety days. 2.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.