(The Associated Press circulated the following on October 17.)
NEW YORK — Shares of railroad operators rose in Wednesday trading after CSX Corp. reported third-quarter adjusted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.
The company reported adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share. Analysts expected earnings of 62 cents per share.
Bear Stearns analyst Edward Wolfe said that the positive earnings report, which included higher-than-anticipated productivity and yields, fares well for the rest of the sector.
Wolfe said he still expects Union Pacific Corp. and Kansas City Southern to report the strongest third-quarter results, and sees the weakest report coming from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.
The analyst had previously said he expected CSX to meet analysts’ estimates, while Union Pacific Corp. and Kansas City Southern would likely beat expectations.
Wolfe maintained his “Peer Perform” rating and earnings estimates on CSX.
In afternoon trading, shares of CSX rose $2.17, or 5.1 percent, to $45.
Union Pacific gained $1.74 to $117.92, while Kansas City Southern rose 5 cents to $34.55.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe fell 1 cent to $82.04, and Canadian National Railway Co. gained 74 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $52.64.