Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.62 Per Share

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 31st, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.6159 per share by the transportation company on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a 0.8% increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61.

Canadian National Railway has raised its dividend by an average of 10.9% annually over the last three years. Canadian National Railway has a payout ratio of 39.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Canadian National Railway to earn $6.21 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.9%.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CNI opened at $101.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.63. The stock has a market cap of $63.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. Canadian National Railway has a 52-week low of $96.28 and a 52-week high of $134.02.

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 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, research analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. TD Securities raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway has a consensus 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.