Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $3.23 Million in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 31,782 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,226,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CNI. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 43.3% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,552 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after buying an additional 4,698 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 363.6% in the third quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 153,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,012,000 after buying an additional 120,687 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 5.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,962,972 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $464,002,000 after acquiring an additional 202,303 shares in the last quarter. Partners Group Holding AG boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 16.3% in the third quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 406,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,571,000 after acquiring an additional 56,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 82.3% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 6,261 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Canadian National Railway Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Canadian National Railway stock opened at $97.55 on Thursday. Canadian National Railway has a 12-month low of $93.64 and a 12-month high of $134.02. 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 has a market cap of $61.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.49.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CNI. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.19.

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.