Royal Bank of Canada Increases Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $282.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $272.00 to $282.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.86% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded down $3.73 on Wednesday, hitting $256.70. 819,287 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,256,272. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $248.46 and its 200 day moving average is $236.73. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a PE ratio of 41.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $742,440. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. 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

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $813,554,000 after buying an additional 37,386 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.