Alberta’s rail plan will benefit CN

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $106 (Toronto symbol CNR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 728.3 million; Market cap: $77.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.6; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cn.ca) recently signed a three-year contract to ship 50,000 to 60,000 barrels of Cenvous’s crude oil by rail each day. The company also stands to benefit from the Alberta government’s plan to acquire locomotives and rail cars to transport 120,000 barrels a day. Presumably, Alberta would lease rail space from both CN and CP. CN’s commitments to shippers of other goods (grain, coal, etc.) could limit its ability to handle those extra oil shipments. Still, expanding crude-by-rail volumes is a long-term plus for the company. CN Rail is a buy. buy…