Two buys for your safety-conscious gains

Article Excerpt

CP Rail and Metro are leading competitors in their respective markets. You can expect that to lower your risk if the economy should weaken. We see both stocks as buys. CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY $108.19, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol CP; shares o/s: 931.8 million; Market cap: $99.1 billion; Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 0.7%) ships freight over a 32,190-kilometre rail network. That line runs mainly between Montreal and Vancouver, with links to hubs in the U.S. Midwest and Northeast. With the addition of U.S.-based railway Kansas City Southern (see below), it also connects with hubs and ports on the U.S. Gulf Coast and in Mexico. As a result of its $31 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern, CPKC’s revenue in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, rose 53.4%, to $3.78 billion from $2.46 billion a year earlier. On a comparable basis, revenue improved 3.8%. That increase was mainly due to higher shipments of coal, potash, oil, metals and automotive goods. Excluding one-time items, earnings in…