Bank of America Merrill Lynch Maintains Buy on Norfolk Southern

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is out with its report today on Norfolk Southern NSC, maintaining Buy. In a note to clients, Bank of America Merrill Lynch writes, "NS is posting solid double-digit vol growth, which along with its inflation-plus pure pricing and beneficial product mix, is leading to sub-70's op ratio performance. The rails have historically traded between 12.5x-15.5x. NSC's shares are slightly lagging the group and likely to trade toward the upper end of that range as a premiere carrier, leaving upside potential after its year-to-date underperformance." Deutsche Bank maintains its $77 PO on NSC. Shares of NSC closed Wednesday at $70.53, down 1.05% from Tuesday's close.