Dividend increase: CN Rail

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $113 (Toronto symbol CNR; Conservative Growth Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 726.0 million; Market cap: $82.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.9%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.cn.ca) operates Canada’s largest railway. Its 32,200-kilometre network stretches across the country, and reaches the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast. Starting with the March 2019 payment, the company will raise its quarterly dividend by 18.1%, to $0.5375 a share from $0.455. The new annual rate of $2.15 yields 1.9%. CN also plans to buy back about 3% of its outstanding shares by January 31, 2020. The company expects its earnings will rise about 10% in 2019 to $6.05 share. The stock trades at 18.7 times that estimate. CN Rail is a buy. buy. …