CN’s future still looks bright

Article Excerpt

CN’s strong attention to efficiency and ongoing investments in its operations should spur its earnings for years to come. Still, the company’s shares have moved mostly sideways in the past year. That’s mainly due to CN’s increased costs and lower earnings as a result of bad winter weather in Western Canada. The company also faces uncertainty over the future of NAFTA. A cancellation of that agreement could significantly reduce rail traffic between this country, the U.S. and Mexico. However, trade talks continue, and we feel CN, as an industry leader, is in a strong position to overcome any potential setbacks. CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $102 (Toronto symbol CNR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 740.2 million; Market cap: $75.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.8; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cn.ca) operates Canada’s largest railway. Its 32,200-kilometre network stretches across the country, and passes through the U.S. Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Ottawa nationalized the company in 1922, as railways were critical…