Barron's Picks And Pans: Apple, CSX, Tapestry, Total, Viacom And More

• This weekend's Barron's offers a look at what's in store for North American railroad stocks.
• Other featured articles discuss changing oil stock dividends and potential results from a major media merger.
• Also, the prospects for the iPhone maker, a luxury fashion company, a French oil giant and more.

"Railroad Stocks Could Run Out of Steam" by Bill Alpert suggests that cost-cutting is boosting profits for North American railroads, but declining freight volumes and increasing competition from truckers may pull the brakes on growth at the likes of CSX Corporation CSX.

Avi Salzman's "Coach Parent Tapestry Could See a Turnaround" points out that this accessories company has endured an awful year. Yet strong cash flow and continued success at Coach bode well for Tapestry Inc TPR investors.

In "The New King of TV on His Vision for CBS and Viacom," Jack Hough shares what Bob Bakish, tapped to lead the recombined CBS Corporation CBS and Viacom, Inc. VIAB, has in mind for the company, including thoughts about M&A.

See what Barron's believes investors may not appreciate about AMERCO UHAL, according to "U-Haul Parent Company Stock Is One of the Market's Better Kept Secrets. Why It's Time to Buy." by Andrew Bary.

In Lawrence C. Strauss's "Dividends Are Now Part of the Oil-Stock Playbook," see the signs that priorities about dividends and share buybacks at exploration and production companies may be changing. Find out what's up with Parsley Energy Inc PE and others?

See Also: Short Squeeze Candidates: 10 Most Heavily Shorted Stocks

"United Airlines Stock Could Get a Boost After a Short Squeeze" by Ben Levisohn looks why, with the market's sudden lurch toward value stocks, some big names with lots of short interest could see a nice bump. Does that include Boeing Co BA?

In "Apple Is Becoming a Camera Company. It's Smarter Than Everyone Thought.," Eric J. Savitz looks at why tech giant Apple Inc. AAPL has taken yet another unexpected pivot, driving interest in its new iPhones ahead of 5G.

French company Total SA TOT should have sufficient free cash flow to keep boosting its payout handsomely over the next three years. So says Lawrence C. Strauss's "Energy Company Total Could Boost Its Dividend by 10% a Year."