Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Announces $0.63 Quarterly Dividend

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 23rd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of 0.625 per share by the transportation company on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th.

Canadian National Railway has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Canadian National Railway has a payout ratio of 37.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Canadian National Railway to earn $6.63 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.49 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.6%.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNI traded up $1.54 during trading on Thursday, reaching $124.40. The stock had a trading volume of 408,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,010,723. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $129.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.20. Canadian National Railway has a one year low of $103.96 and a one year high of $134.02. The stock has a market cap of $79.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 23.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Wednesday. TD Securities downgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.86.

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.