Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $302.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective hoisted by Citigroup from $294.00 to $302.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $253.42 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $57.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $248.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.88. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current 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 $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NSC. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth $956,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $846,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $583,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.