PNC Financial Services Group Inc. recently announced a 5% decline in its stake in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR), according to a filing submitted with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor disposed of 4,153 shares of the transportation firm’s stock during the fourth quarter, reducing its holdings to 79,656 shares valued at approximately $9,469,000.
Canadian National Railway stands as a well-recognized name in the field of rail and associated transportation services. Its broad range of offerings includes rail, intermodal transport, trucking services, business development solutions, supply chain services, maps and network support systems aimed at diverse industries such as automotive, coal, fertilizer, food and beverages, forest products among others.
The company’s stocks opened up at around $115.52 on Wednesday. Over the past year alone they have fluctuated between lows of $103.79 and highs that peaked at $129.89. The company is presently valued at a market capitalization of $76.63 billion with an impressive price-to-earnings ratio pegged at 19.16 coupled with a P/E/G ratio typically tabulated using the rate of earnings growth recorded to average P/E ratio seen over time – currently standing at 2.44 indicating potential for future growth prospects.
Investors who follow closely may have observed that over the past 50 days alone this prominent rail company has maintained an average stock price rate of about $118 dollars per share while over the long run across the past ~200 day interval this average was commonly held around $120 giving rise to speculation amongst industry experts over recent trends concerning CNI’s current asset valuation measures such as Price/Book or Price/Sales yet overall analysts remain optimistic about CNI’s future position in light of their consistent performance record establishing a reliable reputation for reliability backed by operational excellence.
It seems CNI is leaner, meaner and more efficient than ever despite the reduced ownership stake of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. With a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69 along with an array of service offerings for clients spanning a wide range of industries it’s clear that Canadian National Railway will continue to remain a strong contender in this continued era of landmark technological advancements and economic shifts.
Institutional Investors and Analyst Ratings Boost Confidence in Canadian National Railway’s Stock
Canadian National Railway: Insider Investors and Analyst Ratings
Canadian National Railway, a transportation company that services Canada and the United States, has seen various institutional investors add or reduce their stakes in the company lately. CWM LLC boosted its position in Canadian National Railway by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, gaining an additional 86 shares worth $281,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its position by 2.2% in the third quarter with an additional 87 shares valued at $474,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position by 0.3% during the third quarter through an acquisition of another 88 shares.
Similarly, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake by 1.5% to acquire an additional 89 shares in Q3 making it own now owns 6,213 shares worth $671,000 . Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors also increased their holdings by 90 shares during the fourth quarter; owning a total of approximately $307k worth of stock.
Institutional investors and hedge funds now possess a staggering 86.96% of Canadian National Railway’s stock, which is quite telling of investor confidence in this railway giant.
Recent equities analyst ratings also suggest a positive outlook on the future of Canadian National Railway’s stocks as major investment firms give the company favorable ratings. Royal Bank of Canada raised their rating on the company from “sector perform” to “outperform” on April 6th with Wells Fargo & Company raising their price target from $115 to $125 per share on April 25th.
On May 18th StockNews.com gave Canadian National Railway a buy rating while Susquehanna lifted their price target from $114 to $116 on April 25th.
Although one analyst rates this stock as “Sell,” eight have assigned a rating of “Hold,” whereas eight others issued a positive “Buy” rating bringing about an average rating of “Hold” with an average target price of $143.22 according to Bloomberg.
Canadian National Railway has recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record engaged in the transaction should receive a dividend payout ratio (DPR) of 37.98% equal to a $2.33 annualized dividend and yielding an impressive 2.02%.
Source: beststocks.com
