This railway has a bright future

Article Excerpt

CN Rail failed in its attempt to buy U.S. railway Kansas City Southern, which will instead merge with Canadian Pacific Railway. Still, following its rejected offer, CN hired a new CEO in January 2022. That move helped kick-start a growth plan for CN, which will increase value for shareholders and satisfy the demands of an activist investor. Railways are highly cyclical, and the stock has moved mostly sideways since the start of 2022 on concerns rising inflation and interest rates will slow the economy. However, CN’s long-term outlook remains strong, as its focus on efficiency will keep fuelling its earnings. Moreover, shippers continue to prefer railways, which are a much cheaper way than trucks to ship freight over long distances. CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $162 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol CNR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 668.5 million; Market cap: $108.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.5; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cn.ca) operates Canada’s largest railway. Its 29,900-kilometre network…