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 raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $272.00 to $282.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.3 %

NSC stock opened at $256.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.88. 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 twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.06 billion, a PE ratio of 41.38, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first 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. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,037.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 349,143 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $86,762,000 after purchasing an additional 347,634 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.