Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 292 Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,883 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 15.3% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 730 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 332 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 5,582 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,980 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 3,099 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CNI shares. Citigroup upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNI opened at $102.65 on Thursday. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $98.69 and a twelve month high of $134.02. The company has a market cap of $64.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $103.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is currently 47.66%.

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.