Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) PT Raised to $287.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target hoisted by Loop Capital from $285.00 to $287.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $251.09 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.76 and a one year high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $249.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $236.99.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 3,700 shares of company stock valued at $921,565 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.8% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 14,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 8.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,766,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Trajan Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 31,509 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $7,830,000 after buying an additional 4,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.