Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Stake Boosted by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 340,418 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80,229 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.05% of Canadian National Railway worth $34,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth about $563,048,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 46.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,737,322 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $789,030,000 after buying an additional 2,137,948 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,943,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the third quarter valued at approximately $159,907,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Canadian National Railway by 4.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,562,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,175,935,000 after acquiring an additional 790,420 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CNI. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.02.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of CNI opened at $97.39 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.51. Canadian National Railway has a 52 week low of $93.64 and a 52 week high of $132.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

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

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.