Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price increased by Barclays from $290.00 to $305.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

NSC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE NSC opened at $269.26 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $201.44 and a one year high of $277.60. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $252.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.46. The company has a market cap of $60.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. 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 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.0% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,721 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,104 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 26,913 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,859,000 after acquiring an additional 7,938 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 47,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $12,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 8.5% during the first quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 7,648 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,949,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.