• Priceline.com (NASDAQ:PCLN) reported adjusted third quarter earnings of $3.45 a share, 55 cents above consensus estimates, on better-than-expected revenues of $730.7 million, ahead of estimates of $$693.97 million on strong summer season travel. The firm provided fourth quarter guidance at about $1.06-$1.16

• Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) said it plans to cut 1500 additional jobs. The firm reported second quarter adjusted earnings of 6 cents, a one penny miss, on revenues of $1.15 billion, which slightly topped Street projections of $1.12 billion. The firm forecast 2010 earnings of $0.70-$1.00, topping estimates of 89 cents on revenues of $4.2-$4.4 billion versus estimates of $4.26 billion

• Cadbury (NYSE:CBY) rejected the latest Kraft (NYSE:KFT) bid calling it "derisory"

• Moody's (NYSE:MCO) commented that AIG (NYSE:AIG) will be able to repay its Federal loans

• Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) lifted its growth expectations for the semiconductor group following release of third quarter numbers. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) remained its first

...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 29, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC), Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI), MeadWestvaco Corporation (MWV), International Paper Company (IP) and Weyerhaeuser Company (WY).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s AnalystBlog:

Norfolk Southern Heads North

Norfolk Southern Corp.’s (NSC) third-quarter earnings per share stood at 81 cents, compared to a profit of $1.30 in the year-ago period. The fall in earnings was due to lower volume on the back of subdued demand for shipped

...

Norfolk Southern Corp.’s (NSC) third-quarter earnings per share stood at 81 cents, compared to a profit of $1.30 in the year-ago period. The fall in earnings was due to lower volume on the back of subdued demand for shipped goods. However, EPS results were ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 79 cents per share.

Operating revenues fell 29% to $2.1 billion, driven by a 35% drop in coal revenues and a 31% drop in intermodal revenue along with lower fuel surcharge recovery.

Operating profit came in at $562 million, driven by a 20% reduction in volume but partly offset by a 25% reduction in operating expenses. Operating ratio stood at 72.8%, up 370 basis points year over year.

Total volume was 1.5 million units, down 20% year over year. However, traffic volumes stabilized during the quarter, as witnessed by an 8% increase sequentially.

For the fourth quarter, domestic intermodal volumes are expected

...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #5 Rank ("strong sell") List today:

Agrium Inc (AGU) Benchmark Electronics Inc (BHE) Blyth Inc (BTH) Brandywine Realty Trust (BDN) Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc (BBW) Callaway Golf Co (ELY) Ciena Corp (CIEN) Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF) Cintas Corp (CTAS) Denison Mines Corp (DNN) DRI Corp (TBUS) Ethan Allen Interiors Inc (ETH) Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (FDP) Georgia Gulf Corp (GGC) Harsco Corp (HSC) IMS Health Inc (RX) Independent Bank Corp (IBCP) Integra Bank Corp (IBNK) Irwin Financial Corp (IFC) ITT Corp (ITT) Kelly Services Inc (KELYA) Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) Legacy Bancorp Inc (LEGC) Liberty Property Trust (LRY) LSI Industries Inc (LYTS) MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (MSM) Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #5 Rank ("strong sell") List today:

Actuant Corp (ATU) Argo Group International Holdings Ltd (AGII) The Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK) Benchmark Electronics Inc (BHE) C&D Technologies Inc (CHP) Cavco Industries Inc (CVCO) Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (CP) China Security & Surveillance Tech Inc (CSR) Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF) Cleco Corp (CNL) CONMED Corp (CNMD) CRM Holdings Ltd (CRMH) Dayton Superior Corp (DSUPQ) Domtar Corp (UFS) DRI Corp (TBUS) Eastman Kodak Co (EK) EMS Technologies Inc (ELMG) Exelon Corp (EXC) Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD) Gran Tierra Energy Inc (GTE) Harleysville Group Inc (HGIC) Haverty Furniture Companies Inc (HVT) Helmerich & Payne Inc (HP) Innophos Holdings Inc (IPHS) Insteel Industries Inc (IIIN) JA Solar ...

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) shed more than 6% in afternoon trading on heavy volumes to trade below its 50-day moving average of $35.31. The consensus estimate on the company's full-year earnings has fallen by 35 cents per share to $3.33 in the last month. Norfolk Southern is a Zacks#5 Rank ("Strong Sell") stock.

"NSC" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

Highlights include Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC), Union Pacific Corp. (UNP), Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI), CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) and Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU). One way to keep track of economic activity is to look at just how much stuff is moving around. In this case, the data from Railfax shown below is not very reassuring. Total rail traffic last week was down 24.4% from a week ago, and the decline is very broad-based across all of the major types of goods carried on the rails. The best way to look at the data is to compare the top line of each grouping (the "Vs. 2008" line). Note that the total traffic quarter to date is down 22.5% from a year ago, which is substantially worse than the 18.1% decline year to date. ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #5 Rank ("strong sell") List today:

Allegheny Energy Inc (AYE) AnnTaylor Stores Corp (ANN) Arbor Realty Trust Inc (ABR) Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK) Boise Inc (BZ) Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc (BBW) C&D Technologies Inc (CHP) Callaway Golf Co (ELY) Celgene Corp (CELG) China Sunergy Co Ltd (CSUN) Cutera Inc (CUTR) Cynosure Inc (CYNO) Dayton Superior Corp (DSUPQ) Domtar Corp (UFS) Doral Financial Corp (DRL) Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc (EIHI) Embraer - Empr Bras Aeronautica (ERJ) Employers Holdings Inc (EIG) EMS Technologies Inc (ELMG) Eni SpA (E) FalconStor Software Inc (FALC) FARO Technologies Inc (FARO) FBL Financial Group (FFG) First M & F Corp (FMFC) Gevity HR Inc (GVHR) Harbin Electric Inc (HRBN) Hartford ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #5 Rank ("strong sell") List today:

ABB Ltd (ABB) ACIW (ACIW) AnnTaylor Stores Corp (ANN) Argo Group International Holdings Ltd (AGII) Bancolombia SA (CIB) Bristow Group Inc (BRS) BRT Realty Trust (BRT) Cadence Financial Corp (CADE) CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP) Collective Brands Inc (PSS) El Paso Electric Co (EE) Erie Indemnity Co (ERIE) Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD) Fairpoint Communications Inc (FRP) Ferro Corp (FOE) First Merchants Corp (FRME) First Security Group Inc (FSGI) Fuel Tech Inc (FTEK) Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (GOL) Harleysville Group Inc (HGIC) Haverty Furniture Companies Inc (HVT) Heartland Payment Systems Inc (HPY) Huntsman Corp (HUN) Intrepid Potash Inc (IPI) ITT Corp (ITT) Jo-Ann Stores Inc (JAS) Kelly Services Inc ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #5 Rank ("strong sell") List today:

Alaska Air Group Inc (ALK) American River Bankshares (AMRB) Bank of Florida Corp (BOFL) The Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK) BE Aerospace Inc (BEAV) Bunge Ltd (BG) Callon Petroleum Co (CPE) Cano Petroleum Inc (CFW) CNH Global NV (CNH) CONMED Corp (CNMD) Covenant Transportation Group Inc (CVTI) Cowen Group Inc (COWN) CRM Holdings Ltd (CRMH) Crosstex Energy Inc (XTXI) Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc (DWA) ECB Bancorp Inc (ECBE) Electronics For Imaging Inc (EFII) Encore Wire Corp (WIRE) Entravision Communication (EVC) Esterline Technologies Corp (ESL) Expedia Inc (EXPE) The Greenbrier Companies (GBX) Heartland Payment Systems Inc (HPY) HLTH Corp (HLTH) Hugoton Royalty Trust (HGT) ...