Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $245.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $241.00 to $245.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential downside of 1.92% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC traded up $3.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $249.79. 147,432 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,248,784. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.83.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by 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.