CP continues to impress

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $388 remains your #1 Conservative stock for 2020. The company (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 135.6 million; Market cap: $52.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.7; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cpr.ca) has gained roughly 16% since the start of 2020 despite the COVID-19 shutdowns. That reflects its vital importance to Canada’s economy. CP’s precision scheduled railroading model also helps it quickly adjust its costs to changing shipping volumes. As a result, its operating ratio in the quarter improved to 57.0% from 58.4% a year earlier. (Operating ratio is calculated by dividing regular operating costs by revenue. The lower that ratio is, the better.) The company expects its earnings for all of 2020 to be higher than the $16.44 a share it earned in 2019. CP is also raising its quarterly dividend by 14.5%, to $0.95 a share from $0.83. The new annual rate of $3.80 yields 1.0%. CP Rail is our #1 Conservative Buy…