Scotia Capital Inc. Grows Position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,012,858 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 321,178 shares during the period. Canadian National Railway accounts for approximately 1.6% of Scotia Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $304,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. Norges Bank bought a new position in Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter worth about $563,048,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter worth about $216,943,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,814,469 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $488,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,977 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,306,192 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $340,987,000 after acquiring an additional 743,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 64.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,492,218 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $174,813,000 after acquiring an additional 584,832 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $115.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.19.

Canadian National Railway Trading Up 6.2 %

NYSE:CNI opened at $98.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $61.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.17. Canadian National Railway has a 12-month low of $91.65 and a 12-month high of $132.27.

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

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio 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.