Efficiency fuels this top railway’s dividend

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $102 (Toronto symbol CNR; Conservative Growth Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 758.8 million; Market cap: $77.4 billion; Dividend yield: 1.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.cn.ca) operates Canada’s largest railway. Its 32,200-kilometre network stretches across the country, and reaches the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast. CN has increased its dividend each year since it became a public company in 1995. The latest rise was in March 2017 when the company increased the quarterly dividend by 10.0%. The new annual rate of $1.65 yields 1.6%. Moderate payout ratio points to more hikes CN has plenty of room to keep increasing the payout. In 2016, dividends accounted for just 46.0% of the company’s free cash flow (regular cash flow less capital expenditures). CN’s revenue rose 27.1%, from $9.9 billion in 2012 to $12.6 billion in 2015. However, revenue fell 4.6% to $12.0 billion in 2016 as producers of crude oil and coal cut their shipments due to lower prices…