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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Texas Instruments, CSX Corp, Norfolk Southern Corp, Deere and UBS Group

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – May 27, 2021 – 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: Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN - Free Report) , CSX Corporation (CSX - Free Report) , Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC - Free Report) , Deere & Company (DE - Free Report) and UBS Group AG (UBS - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Stock Reports for Texas Instruments, CSX and Norfolk Southern

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Texas Instruments, CSX Corp and Norfolk Southern Corp. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>

Shares of Texas Instruments have outperformed the Zacks Semiconductor - General industry in the last one-year period (+60.2% vs. +39.6%). Additionally, Texas Instruments reported strong first quarter results wherein both earnings and revenues have topped the estimates.

The Zacks analyst believes that growth in the personal electronics market owing to the current work-from-home trend drove the top-line growth. Further, a rebound in the automotive market was a tailwind. Also, solid growth in the industrial market was a positive. Strong performance of Analog and Embedded Processing segments contributed well.

Further, the company’s portfolio of long-lived products and efficient manufacturing strategies are other positives. Also, continuous returns to shareholders are likely to instill investor optimism in the stock. However, coronavirus related uncertainties remain major headwinds.

(You can read the full research report on Texas Instruments here >>>)

Shares of CSX have gained +6.6% in the last three months against the Zacks Transportation - Rail industry’s gain of +5.4%. The Zacks analyst believes that CSX is benefiting from robust intermodal volumes, thanks to strong demand for transportation services due to inventory replenishment and higher volumes from East Coast ports.

With freight volumes improving as the economy continues to recover, CSX hopes to achieve double-digit revenue growth in the current year. The company’s efforts to reward shareholders are encouraging. Its sound liquidity position is an added positive.

However, weakness in merchandise and coal volumes is a major cause for concern. With coronavirus concerns continuing, there remains uncertainty surrounding the company’s prospects. CSX’s high capital expenditures are also worrisome as it has the potential to hurt the bottom line.

(You can read the full research report on CSX here >>>)

Norfolk Southern shares have outperformed the Zacks Transportation – Rail industry in the year-to-date period (+17.0% vs. +8.8%). In fact, Norfolk Southern reported better-than-expected earnings per share and revenues in first-quarter 2021. Both metrics also improved year over year. Results were aided by the 3% rise in overall volumes. Operating ratio (operating expenses as a % of revenues) improved in the quarter owing to low costs and higher revenues.

However, disappointing performance of the Merchandise segment in the quarter is concerning. Segmental revenues and volumes declined 4% and 3% year over year in the March quarter. Nevertheless, the Zacks analyst is impressed by the company's commitment to reward its shareholders even in the current turbulent scenario.

In first-quarter 2021, the company paid $840 million to its shareholders through dividends and buybacks. A strong free cash flow generation too supports its shareholder-friendly activities.

(You can read the full research report on Norfolk Southern here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Deere and UBS Group.

+1,500% Growth: One of 2021’s Most Exciting Investment Opportunities

In addition to the stocks you read about above, would you like to see Zacks’ top picks to capitalize on the Internet of Things (IoT)? It is one of the fastest-growing technologies in history, with an estimated 77 billion devices to be connected by 2025. That works out to 127 new devices per second.

Zacks has released a special report to help you capitalize on the Internet of Things’s exponential growth. It reveals 4 under-the-radar stocks that could be some of the most profitable holdings in your portfolio in 2021 and beyond.

Click here to download this report FREE >>

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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