(The Associated Press circulated the following article on October 19.)
NEW YORK — Shares of railroad stocks climbed on Wednesday, a day after third-quarter earnings from CSX Corp. beat analysts expectations on higher volumes and strong pricing.
Shares of CSX led the gainers by adding $1.58, or 4.5 percent, to $36.81 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Norfolk Southern Corp. jumped $1.89, or 4 percent, to $49.58 on the NYSE. Also on the Big Board, shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. gained $2.14, or 2.7 percent, to $81.42, and shares of Union Pacific Corp. put on $1.75, or 2 percent, to $93.26.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX said third-quarter earnings doubled to $328 million, or 71 cents per share, from $164 million, or 36 cents per share, during the same period last year. Excluding special items, such as a 17-cent boost from Hurricane Katrina insurance recoveries, CSX earned 54 cents per share in the quarter.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast a profit of 51 cents per share, which excluded the insurance benefit.
The report from CSX bodes well for the rest of the sector, said Edward Wolfe, an analyst at Bear Stearns.
“We generally expect upside reports from the major U.S. rails and likely inline reports from the Canadian rails, with solid forward tone and guidance,” Wolfe said in a research note on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the sector, shares of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. advanced $1.10, or 2.1 percent, to $53, and shares of Canadian National Railway Co. gained $1.08, or 2.5 percent, to $44.43, both on the NYSE.