Stephens Boosts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $275.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Stephens from $260.00 to $275.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Stephens’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.66% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.74.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE NSC opened at $255.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $57.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $248.75. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.50%. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $918,000. 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.