Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, January 3, 2020

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO., $118.40, Toronto symbol CNR, remains a buy. Through their shares, investors tap Canada’s largest railway. Its 32,200-kilometre network stretches across the country. It also travels down through the U.S. Midwest, connecting Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. CN last raised its quarterly dividend with the March 2019 payment. Investors now receive $0.5375 a share, up 18.1% from $0.455. The new annual rate of $2.15 yields 1.8%. The company recently settled an eight-day strike by the union representing 3,200 of its workers (13% of its total workforce), including conductors, trainpersons and yard workers. During the walkout, the company operated at just 10% of its capacity. However, CN has now cleared its freight backlogs and is once again operating at normal volume levels. Investors should note, however, that CN still expects the eight-day strike to cut its 2019 earnings by $0.15 a share, to $5.97 a share. Even so, its 2020 earnings should improve to $6.45 a share. The stock trades at a..