Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Estimates

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.31, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 27.22%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Canadian National Railway’s conference call:

• Network efficiency gains drove operational improvement in Q1 — car velocity +6%, dwell -4%, train speed +6%, RTMs +3% and higher locomotive and T&E productivity, positioning CN to grow volumes without proportional cost increases.
• Free cash flow was ~CAD 900M (up ~CAD 275M YoY) and funded CAD 870M of share repurchases (6M shares), while leverage rose to ~2.7x, reflecting strong cash generation and capital returns to shareholders.
• Safety slipped in Q1 with accidents up year-over-year and roughly CAD 30M higher incident costs; management says targeted actions are underway and April showed early improvement.
• Management is maintaining directional guidance of flattish volumes with earnings slightly outpacing volumes, but flagged a CAD 0.07 Q1 drag from fuel and FX and higher fuel price volatility that could pressure Q2 operating ratio.
• Commercial intensity converted about CAD 100M of revenue in Q1 across grain, NGLs, potash and intermodal, and management cites a dynamic pipeline (~200 initiatives) with ~CAD 100M of near-term visibility for the next quarter.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

CNI stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $111.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,516,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,678,027. Canadian National Railway has a 1 year low of $90.74 and a 1 year high of $115.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $68.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average is $107.47 and its 200-day moving average is $101.32.

Canadian National Railway Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a $0.915 dividend. This represents a $3.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CNI. Vertical Research raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore lowered their price target on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $113.88 to $117.36 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.04.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 378.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 354 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 635 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Canadian National Railway

Here are the key news stories impacting Canadian National Railway this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broker upgrades and higher targets from RBC and Citi increase upside expectations — RBC raised its target to $178 with an “outperform” rating, and Citigroup raised its target to $124 with a “buy” rating, signaling strong analyst conviction in CNI’s medium-term earnings power. Article Title Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results met earnings estimates, revenue grew year-over-year and the company raised its dividend — supports income and cash-flow narratives that investors favor for CNI. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Board continuity: CN confirmed election of the director slate at its May 1 annual meeting, removing near-term governance uncertainty. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials: The company’s Q1 results presentation and earnings call deck are available for deeper detail on volumes, segment trends and guidance drivers. Useful for modeling near-term revenue and margin assumptions. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk: CN said it is reviewing Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern’s amended merger re-application to the Surface Transportation Board and will remain engaged — a combined UP–NS could reshape competitive dynamics and pricing power in key corridors, representing a downside risk for CN. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst signals: Barclays raised its target slightly but kept an “equal weight” rating with a target still below the current price, highlighting that some analysts see limited near-term upside or higher risk relative to peers. Article Title Article Title

About Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE: CNI) is a Class I freight railway that operates an integrated rail network across Canada and the United States. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, CN provides long-haul freight transportation and related logistics services that connect major ports, industrial centers and inland markets throughout North America. Its transcontinental system enables cross-border movement of goods and supports supply chains that span coast-to-coast in Canada and into the central and eastern United States.

CN’s core business is the railborne transportation of a broad mix of commodities, including intermodal container traffic, forest and paper products, grain and other agricultural products, metallurgical and industrial products, petroleum and chemical products, coal and automotive shipments.