Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,210 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 7,144 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $12,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CNI. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Securities raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $115.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on 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 issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.36.

Canadian National Railway Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE CNI opened at $100.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $63.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Canadian National Railway has a 1 year low of $93.64 and a 1 year high of $132.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.80 and a 200 day moving average of $106.17.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its quarterly 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 expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

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

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.