UBS upgraded Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) from Neutral to Buy with a price target of $102.00 (from $84.00), saying the strong Q1 proves the company can deliver on their plan.

Analyst Thomas Wadewitz commented, "On Thursday night NSC reported 1Q EPS of $1.29/share which was sharply above our estimate of $0.99 and Consensus of $0.98/share. Adjusting for several items that may not recur ($32 mm of the materials expense reduction, $10 mm of LDs, and a tax rate benefit of about $9 mm), the adjusted number of $1.17/share would still have been significantly above our expectation. Most importantly, we believe the strong report amid a challenging revenue environment shows that NSC has the ability to deliver on its restructuring / operating improvement program and drive EPS growth. We are raising our rating to Buy from Neutral."

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Shares of Norfolk Southern closed at $82.63 yesterday.