Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $259.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price lifted by TD Cowen from $253.00 to $259.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

NSC has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Loop Capital increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $251.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $249.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.88. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $183.76 and a 12 month high of $263.66.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought 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 Inflows and Outflows

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