Topic: How To Invest

The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, October 27, 2017

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO., $104.22, Toronto symbol CNR, operates Canada’s largest railway. Its 32,200-kilometre network stretches across the country. It also travels down through the U.S. Midwest, connecting Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. CN’s revenue in the three months ended September 30, 2017, rose 6.9%, to $3.22 billion from $3.01 billion a year earlier. The gain is mainly due to higher revenue from shipping coal, metals and automotive parts. Even so, revenue in the latest quarter fell short of the consensus forecast of $3.28 billion. The company’s earnings in the quarter rose 1.7%, to $989 million from $972 million. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share gained 4.8%, to $1.31 from $1.25. That also missed the consensus estimate of $1.32. The lower earnings are mainly due to higher fuel costs. CN has also hired more employees to handle rising rail volumes. As a result, its operating ratio in the quarter worsened to 54.7% from 53.3% a year earlier. (Operating ratio is…