Goldman Sachs Lowers PT on Norfolk Southern to $71

Goldman Sachs is out with its report today on Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC), lowering its PT from $72 to $71.

In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs writes, "We are more bearish on NSC relative to other railroads, given that we expect cost issues to persist as hiring and asset purchases ramp up. However, the company has had the best operational performance in the group in recent weeks (higher velocity, minor increases in terminal dwell) and we expect met coal to be a clear benefit in 2Q. As a result, we see balanced risk reward on the quarter. Our 2Q11 $1.32 EPS estimate suggests slight upside to the consensus estimate of $1.29. Based on volume growth assumption adjustments, our 2011/2012 EPS moves to $4.98/$5.75 from $5.00/$5.79. As a result our 12-month price target moves to $71 from prior $72."

Goldman Sachs maintains Sell on NSC.

Shares of NSC closed Monday at $74.67, down 1.33% from Friday's close.