Activist should deepen value

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY, $104.21, (Toronto symbol CP; shares outstanding: 929.7 million; Market cap: $95.9 billion; Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 0.7%) is still a buy. U.S.-based activist investor Bill Ackman, through his Pershing Square hedge fund, now owns 2.8 million shares of CP. He also owns forward contracts to buy a further 12.0 million shares. That would raise his total to 14.8 million shares, or 2% of the total outstanding. Ackman originally acquired CP shares in 2011 and used that position to install the late Hunter Harrison as CEO. Under Mr. Harrison’s leadership (as well as his successor Keith Creel), CP streamlined its operations and improved the way it puts its assets to work. The activist sold his original shares in 2016 for a big profit. This new stake reflects his belief that CP is poised for more gains, particularly as railways play a vital role in North America’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. CP Rail remains a buy. buy…