SA: Canadian Pacific & Norfolk Southern – top rail transportation stocks at Jefferies

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SEEKING ALPHA reports:

Jefferies initiated coverage on the Class 1 rail transportation sector on Monday.

Analyst Stephanie Moore views the rail industry as well within the maturity phase. “With just six competitors, the industry is at the end of a multi-decade consolidation story which was capped off with the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City,” she noted. Moore said that while volumes have been in decline for the past decade, consistent above-inflation pricing, margin improvement, and share buybacks have driven a historical 10% EPS CAGR within the sector. Looking ahead, Moore thinks that with recent derailments in the news and lackluster volume performance during the COVID freight boom, railroad operators will be more focused on service improvements and volume growth going forward than cost-cutting and margin expansion.

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