Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Increased to $272.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective raised by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $267.00 to $272.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 9.70% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on NSC. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Benchmark increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $247.94. The company had a trading volume of 295,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,778. 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 one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $56.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 80,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $18,972,000 after acquiring an additional 6,764 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 20,325 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,879 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 198,626 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $46,951,000 after purchasing an additional 6,414 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 3,210 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 22,763 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,381,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.