Sector Snap: Railroads Fluctuate On Mixed News

NEW YORK (AP) — Railroad stocks wavered Tuesday, after an analyst cut his profit forecasts across the group for this year and next, but said this still might be a good time for investors to jump in.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst John Larkin reduced his earnings estimates by about 12 percent across the board for both years, citing weaker-than-expected traffic on the tracks so far this year.

Through the first nine weeks of 2009, overall North American rail traffic has fallen 16.1 percent, Larkin said. He predicts traffic will fall by 9.5 percent this year and grow by a modest 2.1 percent in 2010. ...