Union Pacific Defends Merger with Norfolk Southern Amid Customer Support
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Source: seekingalpha
- Merger Defense: Union Pacific engaged with customers at the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers winter meeting to discuss the benefits of its merger with Norfolk Southern and address misinformation from opponents, demonstrating the company's strong commitment to the merger.
- Enhanced Competition: CEO Jim Vena stated that the merger will inject more competition into the railroad industry, compelling competitors to improve service quality or reduce prices, thereby enhancing the overall market environment.
- Application Submission: Last month, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern submitted their application to the Surface Transportation Board to create America's first transcontinental railroad, which included 2,000 letters of support from customers and public officials, indicating broad backing for the initiative.
- Network Resilience: The combined company is expected to be more resilient with a transcontinental network of 50,000 route miles, allowing for greater flexibility in rerouting traffic to avoid congestion and adverse weather, thus improving transportation efficiency.
Analyst Views on NSC
Wall Street analysts forecast NSC stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for NSC is 314.91 USD with a low forecast of 295.00 USD and a high forecast of 354.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
12 Analyst Rating
5 Buy
7 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 286.370
Low
295.00
Averages
314.91
High
354.00
Current: 286.370
Low
295.00
Averages
314.91
High
354.00
About NSC
Norfolk Southern Corporation is a holding company engaged in the rail transportation business. The Company is engaged in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the Southeast, East, and Midwest and, via interchange with rail carriers, to and from the rest of the United States. It also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. It offers an intermodal network in the eastern half of the United States. Its railroad operations system reaches various manufacturing plants, electric generating facilities, mines, distribution centers and transload facilities. It serves various industries such as agriculture, forest and consumer products, automotive, chemicals, and metals and construction. Its coal franchise supports the electric generation market, directly serving over 18 coal-fired power plants, as well as the export, domestic metallurgical, and industrial markets, through direct rail and river, lake, and coastal.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
