Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $285.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target lifted by Susquehanna from $280.00 to $285.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $251.09 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.76 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $249.01 and a 200-day moving average of $236.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 3,700 shares of company stock valued at $921,565 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $813,554,000 after buying an additional 37,386 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.