Top Railroad Stocks To Buy Right Now

Our top pick for conservative investors is also Canada's top entry in the transportation category, explains Canadian stock expert Gordon Pape, editor of Internet Wealth Builder.

CN Rail (TSX:CNR) (NY:CNI) operates in both Canada and the States, with a large percentage of its track running through the American Midwest to the Gulf Coast.

CN Rail is the most cost-efficient railroad on the continent—in fact, no one else is even close to its 59.8% operating ratio.

The company's earnings are steadily growing—third-quarter profit was $705 million ($1.67 a share, fully diluted), up from $664 million ($1.52 per share) in the same period last year.

The shares split two-for-one recently. Since we originally recommended the stock back in 2002, at a split-adjusted price of $12.98, we have enjoyed a capital gain of 350%, plus steadily increasing dividends.

The company continues to benefit from increased oil-by-rail transportation, as the pipeline squeeze has forced producers to look for alternative ways to move product to market.

Best European Companies To Watch For 2016: Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.(CBRL)

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development and operation of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant and retail concept in the United States. Its restaurants provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The company?s gift shops offer various decorative and functional items, such as rocking chairs, holiday and seasonal gifts, apparel, toys, music CD?s, cookware, old-fashioned-looking ceramics, figurines, a book-on-audio sale-and-exchange program, and various other gift items, as well as candies, preserves, pies, cornbread mixes, coffee, syrups, pancake mixes, and other food items. As of November 22, 2011, it operated 608 company-owned locations in 42 states. The company was formerly known as CBRL Group, Inc. and changed its name to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. in December 2008. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.(CBRL) (CBRL) said it will call a special meeting sought by activist investor Sardar Biglari in order to avoid added costs and distractions. Mr. Biglari has called for the restaurant chain to pursue all options, including a potential sale, and has sought a special meeting of shareholders to vote on such a plan. Cracker Barrel set that date for April 23.

• [By Peter Graham]

  The Q4 2014 earnings report for restaurant stock Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ: BOBE), a potential peer of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL), Denny's Corporation (NASDAQ: DENN) and DineEquity Inc (NYSE: DIN), is scheduled for after the market closes on Tuesday. Aside from the Bob Evans Farms report, it should be said that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc reported Q3 2014 earnings on May 28th (revenues and profit�rose on�lower expenses); Denny's Corporation reported Q1 2014 earnings on April 28th (they had their strongest quarter of same-store sales at company restaurants in over seven years); and DineEquity Inc reported Q1 2014 on May 1st (earnings rose on stronger sales). However, Bob Evans Farms�recently replaced�three board members with new independent directors after�facing criticism from shareholder Sandell Asset Management Corp.

• [By Jon Quast]

  Stock buyback programs are fairly common, but they aren't always followed through on. For example, last year Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ: CBRL  ) was authorized to buy back $100 million worth of its shares. When the year ended the company had only actually repurchased a relatively measly $14.9 million worth of its shares. Now that the $100 million program has expired, Cracker Barrel's board has authorized a new $50 million repurchase program.

Top Railroad Stocks To Buy Right Now: Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB de CV (VLRS)

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB de CV (Volaris Aviation Holding Company) is a Mexico-based company principally engaged in the airline passenger transportation industry. The Company is a law-cost carrier airline. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB de CV offers direct, point-to-point flights. The Company serves through secondary, lower cost airports and provides a single class of service. The Company utilizes such aircraft as the Airbus A319 and A320 families, among others. The Company has such subsidiaries as Comercializadora Volaris SA de CV, Servicios Corporativos Volaris SA de CV, Concesionaria Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAPI de CV, Deutsche Bank Mexico SA Trust 1484, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  When most American investors think of discount airline stocks, they probably think of relatively large capped Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE: LUV)�or sort of small cap�JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) rather than�small cap Controladora Vuela Co Avcn SA CV (NYSE: VLRS) which owns Volaris���a discount airline serving the�Mexican market. However, any investor who has read Benjamin Graham�� Intelligent Investor might want to remember his sage advice about avoiding airline stocks���mainly because airlines were such a new and unproven sector that had yet to make money. But could Controladora Vuela Co Avcn SA CV actually be an airline stock worth owning?

Top Railroad Stocks To Buy Right Now: J. W. Mays Inc.(MAYS)

J.W. Mays, Inc. owns and operates commercial real estate properties in the United States. Its properties are located in Brooklyn, Jamaica, Levittown, Massapequa, and Fishkill, New York, as well as in Circleville, Ohio. The company was founded in 1924 and is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] is trading around book value your next step is to figure out how book value is calculated.

  The reason a company trading below book value is interesting has to do with accounting. In the U.S., you don�� mark up the book value of land and many other potentially valuable assets just because you have evidence ��like an appraisal, comparable sale, etc. ��that the market value is now higher than your original cost.

  So, there will be situations where knowing how a company accounts for its assets and knowing the stock trades for less than book value can help direct you to companies selling for less than they are worth.

  DreamWorks is a movie studio. So it is using a rather subjective estimate of the ultimate revenue a movie will produce. It is then amortizing the cost of the movie as revenue comes in to the company in proportion to the percentage of revenue this represents relative to expected total revenue the movie will produce.

  For very old movies, it�� actually a little different. And for flops it�� different. DreamWorks can write off flops. And it can�� expect the ultimate revenue for a movie to be higher to the extent such revenue comes more than 10 years after the film�� release.

  In other words, DreamWorks has to fully amortize a movie within 10 years and disregard the value an 11-year-old movie might have.

  This is explained in a note to the company�� 10-K. It is very important for Ben Graham-type investors to read all these notes carefully ��but especially the notes on depreciation and amortization:

  Once a film, television special/series or live performance is released, capitalized productions costs are amortized and participations and residual costs are accrued on an individual title basis in the proportion that the revenue during the period for each title (��urrent Revenue�� bears to the estimated remaining total revenue to be recognized from all sources for each title (��ltimate Revenue��. The amo

Top Railroad Stocks To Buy Right Now: Emera Inc (EMRAF.PK)

Emera Incorporated (Emera) is an energy and services company. The Company invests in electricity generation, transmission and distribution, gas transmission and utility energy services. As of December 31, 2011, its subsidiaries include Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI), an integrated electric utility and the primary electricity supplier in Nova Scotia; Bangor Hydro Electric Company (Bangor Hydro) and Maine Public Service Company (MPS), (a wholly owned subsidiary of Maine and Maritimes Corporation (MAM)), which together provide transmission and distribution services, and Emera Brunswick Pipeline Company Limited (Brunswick Pipeline). In December 2011, its subsidiary, Emera Utility Services Inc. acquired utility line and communications construction, installation and maintenance business of Green's Service Station Ltd. In November 2013, the Company purchased three combined-cycle natural gas-fired electricity generating facilities in New England from Capital Power Corporation. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markus Aarnio]

  3. Emera Incorporated (EMRAF.PK) engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity to various customers. Emera's strategic energy services and infrastructure include electric utilities in the Northeastern US, Atlantic Canada, St. Lucia, Grand Bahama and Barbados, a pumped storage hydro-electric facility, natural gas pipelines, a gas-fired power plant, an energy services company and a renewable tidal energy company.