Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 52.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 958 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,078 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.2% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 28,401 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,067,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,123 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 867 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.4% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 27,356 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Canadian National Railway Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CNI opened at $127.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $81.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.88. Canadian National Railway has a 1 year low of $103.96 and a 1 year high of $134.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.70 and a 200 day moving average of $121.66.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 33.38% and a return on equity of 23.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $0.638 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is 39.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CNI shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. TD Securities cut shares of Canadian National Railway from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.52.

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.