Pipeline shortages boost CN

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $125 (Toronto symbol CNR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 721.4 million; Market cap: $90.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.1; Dividend yield: 1.7%; 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. The company’s revenue in the quarter ended March 31, 2019, rose 11.0%, to $3.54 billion from $3.19 billion a year earlier. That’s mainly because a lack of new pipeline capacity has increased demand for crude-by-rail service. Revenue from shipping oil jumped 30.3% in the quarter, and accounted for 21% of the total. CN’s revenue also benefitted from the lower Canadian dollar, which enhanced revenue for its U.S. operations. Overall earnings in the quarter improved 14.4%, to $848 million from $741 million. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share gained 17.0%, to $1.17 from $1.00. Despite harsh winter conditions, which forced CN to run shorter trains and spend more…