Ryanair to Reimburse Customers for Check-In Costs

Norfolk Southern’s NSC proactive cost-cutting initiatives are boosting operational efficiency. However, NSC is grappling with economic uncertainties and lackluster liquidity, adversely impacting the company’s operations.

Factors Favoring NSC

Norfolk Southern's strong commitment to safety bodes well for the company. While the FRA personal injury rate has increased, the company has made significant strides in reducing serious injuries and total accidents, with declines of 40% and 20%, respectively. This reflects NSC’s effective focus on mitigating more severe incidents and improving overall safety outcomes.

With safety as its core value, NSC focuses on service performance as its NorthStar. The company has optimized train schedules and reduced handling times, leading to a 13% year-over-year increase in car velocity, driven by a 9% boost in train speed and reduced terminal dwell time. These productivity gains are also accelerating cost reductions, boosting Norfolk Southern’s operational efficiency.

NSC's robust cost-cutting initiatives are driving significant value across the business. In the third quarter of 2024, the company reduced more than 130 crew starts per day, cutting costs by 8%, including a 20% reduction in overtime. This has improved productivity, particularly in locomotive utilization, with an 18% boost in productivity and a strategic reduction in the fleet size.

The company’s new intermodal reservation system enhances terminal visibility, while its precision energy management program has achieved record fuel savings. In the September-end quarter of 2024, operating expenses fell by 34.3% year over year due to reduced fuel costs, which dropped 25.3% year over year. These efforts focus on efficiency, with more cost-saving initiatives in the pipeline.

The company’s price trend reveals that its shares have surged 31% over the past year, surpassing the industry’s 12.2% growth.

American Airlines AAL continues to benefit from strong performance across key revenue segments. Due to the tailwinds, AAL shares have performed impressively on the bourse. If you have not taken advantage of its share price appreciation yet, it’s time to do so.

Let’s delve deeper.

Factors Favoring AAL Stock

Robust Price Performance: The company’s price trend reveals that its shares have surged 23.8% quater-to-date, surpassing the industry’s 6.9% rise.

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 8, 2024 – Zacks Equity Research shares Target TGT as the Bull of the Day and Hershey’s HSY asthe Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Union Pacific UNP, Ryanair RYAAY and SkyWest SKYW.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Making significant progress in addressing inventory concerns, Target's stock appears to be at a positive inflection point ahead of its Q3 results on Wednesday, November 20.

Sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and landing the Bull of the Day, let's take a look at why investing in Target looks favorable again.

Targets Q3 Expectations

Based on Zacks estimates, Target's Q3 sales are projected to increase 2% to $25.97 billion. On the bottom line, Q3 EPS is expected to rise 8% to $2.28 versus $2.10 per share in the comparative quarter.

Target most recently surpassed Q2 earnings expectations by nearly 19% in August with EPS at $2.57 compared to estimates of $2.16 a share. Notably, Target has surpassed the Zacks EPS Consensus in three of its last four quarterly reports posting an average earnings surprise of 20.26%.

Addressing Shrink Concerns

Target has been at the forefront of addressing shrink concerns as theft and damaged goods have affected many retailers in recent years. To that point, Walmart WMT, TJX Companies TJX, and Dollar General DG are some of the other notable names that have dealt with the dismal effects of shrink.

As reported by Yahoo Finance, Target has been a leader in increasing security measures by installing locking cases for items prone to theft while investing in additional security members and third-party training services.

Target also plans to partner with the US Department of Homeland Security to develop cyber defense technology in a bid to curb organized retail crime. These efforts have largely attributed to Target's increased probability considering shrink reduced its profit by an astonishing $1.2 billion in the last two years.

Tracking Targets Rebound & Valuation

Boosting investor sentiment by addressing its shrink issues, Target's stock is up a modest +6% year to date but has now soared +37% over the last year. Edging the benchmark S&P 500's one-year performance, Target has trailed Walmart's +53% but has topped TJX's +28% and Dollar General's plummet of -34%.

Most intriguing, is that TGT trades at 15.4X forward earnings which is a pleasant discount to the S&P 500's 25.1X and Walmart's 34.2X.

Magnifying this perceived discount is that Target's annual earnings are forecasted to increase 7% in its current fiscal 2025 and are projected to climb another 11% in FY26 to $10.56 per share.

It's also noteworthy that TGT trades at just 0.6X sales with its top line expected to be virtually flat in FY25 but slated to increase 3% in FY26 to $110.27 billion.

Bottom Line

Correlating with Target's strong buy rating is that earnings estimate revisions have remained higher for FY25 and FY26. The Average Zacks Price target of $177.28 a share suggests 20% upside in TGT with Target checking an overall "A" VGM Zacks Style Scores grade for the combination of Value, Growth, and Momentum.

Bear of the Day:

Reporting lackluster third quarter results on Thursday, there could be more downside risk ahead for Hershey’s stock.

To that point, the iconic chocolate manufacturer had already seen a decline in its earnings estimate revisions with HSY landing a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and the Bear of the Day.

Hershey’s Dismal Q3 Results

Attributed to what it called a challenging consumer environment, Hershey’s Q3 sales of $2.98 billion dipped 1% from the comparative period and missed estimates of $3.07 billion by 3%.

Lower sales volumes curtailed Hershey’s profit with Q3 EPS of $2.34 dipping 10% from a year ago and missing expectations of $2.50 per share by 6%.

Furthermore, Hershey previously missed Q2 earnings and sales estimates in August with surprises of -12% and -10% respectively.

High Cocoa Prices

Causing more concern was Hershey’s acknowledgment that historically high cocoa prices are weighing on its operating efficiency as well. As the prime ingredient in producing chocolate, cocoa prices are still toward the high end of its 50-year range at over $7,000 per ton.

Declining EPS Estimates

Leading to the strong sell rating for Hershey’s stock, EPS estimates for fiscal 2024 and FY25 have continued to decline over the last 90 days. Unfortunately, the trend of declining earnings estimate revisions will likely continue as Hershey’s full-year FY24 EPS guidance of $9.00-$9.10 came in below the current Zacks Consensus of $9.39 per share.

Bottom Line

For now, it could be best to avoid Hershey’s stock as weaker snacking demand and high cocoa prices are starting to weigh on North America’s largest chocolate producer.

Hershey’s stock is now down -7% year to date and has dropped -25% in the last three years. Correlating with such, it’s noteworthy that Hershey’s Zacks Food-Confectionary Industry is currently in the bottom 5% of over 250 Zacks industries.

Additional content:

Here's Why You Should Retain Union Pacific Stock for Now

Union Pacific's robust cost-cutting initiatives are boosting the company's operations, backed by improved technology and automation. The shareholder-friendly approach bodes well for the company. However, softness in demand and reduced coal volumes are adversely impacting UNP's prospects.

Factors Favoring UNP

Core pricing gains, enhanced operational efficiency and the sale of intermodal equipment are boosting Union Pacific's financial performance.

Union Pacific's efforts to expand are praiseworthy. In October, the company announced a four-year partnership with US Speedskating, highlighting UNP's support for athletic achievement and workforce development.

The company's focus on technology and automation across its transportation, mechanical and engineering teams has boosted locomotive productivity in the September-end quarter of 2024 by 5%. These innovations enhance operational efficiency and improve safety. Overall, Union Pacific excels in performance, efficiency and safety, driving sustainable growth.

Moreover, Union Pacific's bottom line is benefiting from its robust cost-cutting initiatives, boosting the company's operational efficiency. In the third quarter of 2024, UNP's operating expenses fell by 2% year over year. This fall was driven by reduced fuel costs and other expenses.

UNP's safety focus is driving year-to-date improvements in derailments and injuries, positioning the company to become the safest railroad. In the third quarter of 2024, freight car velocity rose 5% year over year to 210 miles per day, with recent performance nearing 220 miles per day. The company also improved the Intermodal and Manifest Service Performance Index by 1 and 5 points, managing a 33% surge in international shipments while minimizing disruptions. UNP is delivering strong safety and operational results.

Union Pacific's commitment to rewarding its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases is commendable. The company's shareholders have received $3.2 billion through dividends and share repurchases year to date, including third-quarter repurchases of $738 million.

Shares of Union Pacific have rallied 17.5% in the past year compared with its industry's growth of 10.5% in the same period.

UNP: Key Risks to Watch

Union Pacific experienced an 18% fall in other revenues in the third quarter of 2024, down by $73 million, driven by several factors, including lower accessorial revenues from intermodal equipment sales, reduced demand for auto parts shipments at the company's subsidiary, the ongoing transfer of metro operations and a one-time $12 million contract settlement.

Moreover, Coal volumes remain a challenge for UNP due to reduced demand, high inventories and competition from low natural gas prices. Automotive volumes dropped from unplanned production adjustments despite some new business wins.

UNP's Zacks Rank

United Pacific currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks for investors' consideration in the Zacks Transportation sector include Ryanair and SkyWest.

Ryanair currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. RYAAY has an expected earnings growth rate of 9.2% for the current year.

The company has an impressive earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, delivering an average miss of 31.05%. Shares of RYAAY have risen 12.3% in the past year.

SKYW sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present and has an expected earnings growth rate of 2.6% for the current year.

The company has an encouraging track record with respect to the earnings surprise, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. The average beat is 79.1%. Shares of SKYW have surged 156.5% in the past year.

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