Why it's a great time to buy CN

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $79 (Toronto symbol CNR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 444.9 million; Market cap: $35.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.0; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cn.ca) operates the largest freight rail network in Canada. It also serves 16 U.S. states. Ottawa nationalized CN in 1918 because of the vital role the company played in Canada’s early growth. CN became a publicly traded company in 1995. Revenue and earnings look set to rise Railways are highly cyclical, which explains CN’s erratic revenue and earnings history. CN’s revenue fell slightly, from $7.93 billion in 2006 to $7.90 billion in 2007, but rose 7.4%, to $8.5 billion, in 2008. The recession cut revenue by 13.1%, to $7.4 billion, in 2009. But CN’s 2010 revenue surged 12.6%, to $8.3 billion, and its 2011 revenue should rise to around $8.9 billion. Earnings fell 4.7%, from $1.8 billion in 2006 to $1.7 billion in 2007. CN is an aggressive buyer of…