Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $253.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $251.00 to $253.00 in a report issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target points to a potential upside of 13.51% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.53.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $222.88 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.36.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 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.