Zacks Research Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for CNI

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, February 13th. Zacks Research analyst M. Basu now forecasts that the transportation company will post earnings of $1.31 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.35. The consensus estimate for Canadian National Railway’s current full-year earnings is $5.49 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Canadian National Railway’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.44 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.38 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.48 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.61 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.59 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.63 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.57 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.59 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.38 EPS.

CNI has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Securities upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Veritas upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

CNI opened at $102.79 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.63. The company has a market capitalization of $64.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.91. Canadian National Railway has a 1 year low of $98.69 and a 1 year high of $134.02. 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 (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share (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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,757,038 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,817,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934,622 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,986,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,334,251,000 after purchasing an additional 101,228 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,562,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,175,935,000 after purchasing an additional 790,420 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,822,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,199,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,768,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,194,443,000 after purchasing an additional 309,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.6159 dividend. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.68%.

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.