Canadian National (CNI) To Expand Rail Network In Manitoba

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) recently announced an investment plan for 2019 worth $370 million to expand and fortify its rail network across the province of Manitoba.

This investment will augment its capacity and network resiliency, while catering to the growing traffic throughout the province. To this end, the company will construct a double track near Exira, west of Portage la Prairie, among other things. Apart from network extension, the program will involve maintenance and replacement (of rail) initiatives. In another expansion initiative, last week, the company announced plans to invest $370 million for network expansion across Alberta. (Read more: Canadian National to Invest $370M in Alberta Rail Network)

The Manitoba capital investment is part of the company’s 2019 capital program valued at $3.9 billion. The program is focused on driving growth across all commodity groups such as consumer goods, grain, agriculture, forest and energy products, to name a few.

Similar to the company’s 2018 capital program, which was valued at C$3.5 billion, capital investments for the current year are anticipated to drive growth.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Canadian National carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) , GATX Corporation (NYSE:GATX) and Azul (NYSE:AZUL) . While Norfolk Southern and GATX carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), Azul sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Norfolk Southern, GATX and Azul have gained more than 21%, 6% and 2%, respectively, on a year-to-date basis.

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