Analysts on Wall Street are bullish on are bullish on a swath of railroad stocks, but one in particular stands out. Wells Fargo upgraded Norfolk Southern stock to overweight on Monday, with a $250 per share price target. That equates to about 15% upside compared to a $217.74 per share close on Friday. So far this year, shares of Norfolk are under pressure with a loss of nearly 12%. Shares rose 1.5% in premarket trading. NSC YTD mountain Norfolk Southern stock. Citi also upgraded Norfolk on Monday, as broader U.S. rail firms start to operate similar to “more cyclical companies” that are “likely to react more positively to improving TL [truckload] dynamics,” wrote analyst Christian Wetherbee. Citi now has a buy rating on Norfolk stock with a $257 per share price target, or 18% upside. Wells Fargo analyst Allison Poliniak-Cusic said that while the company previously faced challenges including a difficult outlook picture as well as an impractical cost structure, Norfolk is moving in the right direction, especially because the company is relatively cheap compared its broader sector. “We see a period of elevated growth from 2025-2029 that justifies a multiple premium for the Eastern Rails, of which we view NS to have the most leverage for expansion given its lagging multiple, high relative intermodal exposure and lagging OR,” Poliniak-Cusic said. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
