Manning & Napier Group LLC Purchases 46,517 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Manning & Napier Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 669,988 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,517 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC owned about 0.10% of Canadian National Railway worth $84,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 241.1% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 121.0% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 369 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the third quarter worth $43,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CNI shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Canadian National Railway from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. TD Securities downgraded Canadian National Railway from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Canadian National Railway from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.70.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Canadian National Railway stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.71. 786,867 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 978,102. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $128.57 and its 200-day moving average is $119.64. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $103.96 and a 12 month high of $134.02. The stock has a market cap of $84.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.56% and a net margin of 33.38%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.638 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.59%.

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.