Royal Bank of Canada Raises Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $282.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $272.00 to $282.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NSC. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

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

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. This represents a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 3,700 shares of company stock worth $921,565 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.