Topic: Blue Chip Stocks

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY $164.05


CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY $164.05
(Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 153.0 million; Market cap: $25.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 1.2%; www.cpr.ca) ships freight over a 22,000-kilometre rail network between Montreal and Vancouver. It links to hubs in the U.S. Midwest and northeast.

In the three months ended March 31, 2016, CP’s earnings per share, excluding one-time items, rose 10.6%, to $2.50 from $2.26 a year earlier. Revenue decreased 4.4%, to $1.71 billion from $1.67 billion.

The company’s operating ratio improved to a record 58.9% from 63.2% a year ago. (Operating ratio is calculated by dividing regular operating costs by revenue. The lower the ratio, the better.)

CP expects its revenue in the second quarter of 2016 to decline by about 12% from a year earlier. As a result, the company will probably earn $2.00 a share in the quarter. That’s down from $2.45 a year earlier.

However, rising commodity prices should spur shipments in the second half of 2016. As well, CP continues to improve its efficiency by speeding up trains and cutting the time they spend at terminals. These factors should help increase its full-year earnings per share by 10%, to $11.11. The stock trades at a reasonable 14.8 times that forecast.

Canadian Pacific Railway is still a safety-conscious buy.

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