(The Associated Press circulated the following on October 23.)
MINNEAPOLIS — An analyst upgraded Norfolk Southern Corp. from to “Buy” from “Hold” on Thursday, after the railroad reported strong third-quarter results this week.
“The shares of this well positioned, high-quality railroad have declined while the company’s fundamental outlook continues to improve,” Stifel Nicolaus analyst John G. Larkin wrote in a note.
The upgrade comes after Norfolk Southern shares resisted the broader market sell-off on Wednesday by closing down just 11 cents, at $54.54. Earlier in the day they rose to $56.45.
Late Tuesday Norfolk, Va.-based Norfolk Southern reported that its third-quarter profit rose 35 percent, well ahead of Wall Street expectations.
“The strong performance in the face of powerfully negative economic headwinds and restrictive global credit conditions was driven by excellent growth in coal volumes, agricultural volumes, and metals volumes and across the board increases in pricing,” Larkin wrote.
He said the company demonstrated excellent cost management during the quarter, keeping its operating expense per ton-mile flat from the same period last year.
He raised his earnings-per-share expectation through 2010.