24,293 shares: Argent Trust Co invests in Canadian National Railway

Argent Trust Co invests in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE: CNI; TSE: CNR), as reported by MarketBeat, with the stake disclosed in a recent Form 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission via SEC EDGAR. Established during the third quarter, the position totals 24,293 shares and is valued at approximately $2.291 million.

Canadian National Railway institutional ownership and recent 13F activity

Argent Trust Co’s move is one of several recent shifts among hedge funds and other institutional investors in Canadian National Railway. AQR Capital Management LLC opened a new position in the first quarter valued at about $311,000.

Also in the first quarter, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holding, lifting its stake by 11.1% to 11,514 shares after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares. By the end of the period, the position was valued at roughly $1.122 million.

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In the second quarter, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. initiated a new holding valued at approximately $202,000. At the same time, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position worth about $236,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake by 25.9% in the second quarter, reaching 4,046 shares after acquiring an additional 833 shares; that position was valued at $421,000.

According to the report, hedge funds and other institutional investors collectively own 80.74% of the stock.

Canadian National Railway analyst ratings and price target outlook

A series of analyst updates has followed. Stephens reduced its price objective on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $100.00 and maintained an “equal weight” rating. Evercore lowered its target from $105.00 to $103.00 with an “in-line” rating. Citigroup cut its price objective from $119.00 to $115.00 and kept a “buy” rating.

Meanwhile, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating. Barclays reduced its target price from $140.00 to $135.00 and assigned an “equal weight” rating. MarketBeat reports ten Buy ratings and ten Hold ratings, leaving Canadian National Railway with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.91.

Canadian National Railway trading, earnings, and dividend increase

Shares of CNI opened at $112.20 on Friday after rising 1.8%. Over the past year, the stock has traded between $90.74 and $112.48.

Separately, Canadian National Railway has a market capitalization of $68.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 2.36, and a beta of 0.94. The company’s debt-to-equity ratio is 0.94, alongside a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Its 50-day simple moving average is $101.80, compared with a 200-day simple moving average of $97.58.

In addition, Canadian National Railway last reported quarterly earnings on Friday, January 30th. The company posted earnings per share of $1.49, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.06. Revenue for the quarter was $3.24 billion, compared with expectations of $4.43 billion. Canadian National Railway recorded a net margin of 27.28% and return on equity of 22.14%, and revenue rose 2.4% versus the same quarter a year earlier. In that prior-year quarter, the company earned $1.82 per share. Analysts expect Canadian National Railway Company to post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Still, the update wasn’t limited to results. Canadian National Railway increased dividend payments, as the company noted in a CN release. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.915 per share, payable on Tuesday, March 31th, to shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. The dividend totals $3.66 on an annualized basis and represents a 3.3% yield, up from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The dividend payout ratio is 46.59%.

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