Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $96.27 and last traded at $96.36, with a volume of 76943 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $98.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 2.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $60.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.44.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.6159 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is 47.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 233.3% during the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 25,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 17,500 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter worth $875,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 370,310 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,590,000 after purchasing an additional 28,904 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.