Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 205,024 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 396.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 256,744 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 205,024 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $26,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in Canadian National Railway by 82.3% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 6,261 shares during the period. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter valued at $436,000. Threadgill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 22,476 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after buying an additional 9,701 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,119,674 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $519,843,000 after acquiring an additional 571,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,646 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE CNI opened at $98.53 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $99.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.66. Canadian National Railway has a one year low of $91.65 and a one year high of $130.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.6159 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CNI. Loop Capital lowered Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Canadian National Railway from $112.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.36.

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.