Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $302.00 at Citigroup

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $294.00 to $302.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.61.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $260.43 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $58.83 billion, a PE ratio of 41.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $248.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $236.73. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last posted 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. The company 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.