Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Increased to $282.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $272.00 to $282.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.28% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $253.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.81, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $248.76 and a 200 day moving average of $236.88.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the 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 owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners grew 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. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.