NS shares rise on J.P. Morgan upgrade
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefNorfolk Southern shares were up 3.52% to $53.79 in late afternoon trading Friday following an upgrade from “neutral” to “overweight” by J. P. Morgan analyst Thomas Wadewitz. At the same time, Wadewitz downgraded Canadian National from “overweight” to “neutral.” CN shares were up 0 27%. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.45%.
The prospect of an upturn coal traffic was a main factor in the NS upgrade. The J. P. Morgan analyst pointed out that NS gets 28% of its business from coal.
Noting that NSX shares have lagged those of some other railroads this year, Wadewitz said in a research note, “Our sense is that there is room for Norfolk Southern to do better than the rail group over the next 12 months.” He is holding to his yearend 2010 price target of $68 a share for NS.
