Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $276.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Evercore ISI from $265.00 to $276.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price indicates a potential upside of 13.15% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded down $3.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $243.93. The stock had a trading volume of 356,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,268,272. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.11 billion, a PE ratio of 39.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $742,440. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. Boston Partners raised its position 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position 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 period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $106,661,000 after acquiring an additional 429,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares during 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.