CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $74 (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 170.9 million; Market cap: $12.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cpr.ca) has signed a long-term deal with U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. (New York symbol SLCA), a leading maker of specialized sand.
Oil and gas exploration companies pump this sand, along with water and other chemicals, into shale rock formations. This fractures the rock and releases the oil and gas.
Under the terms of this multi-year deal, Silica will use CP trains to ship sand from its new Sparta, Wisconsin facility to its customers. CP did not say how much this deal is worth, but it should help the company profit from rising production of shale oil in the Bakken area, which covers parts of Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan.
CP Rail is our #1 buy for 2012.