Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $260.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Susquehanna from $250.00 to $260.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Susquehanna’s price target suggests a potential upside of 1.12% from the company’s current price.

NSC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $278.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.71.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2%

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $257.11. 469,523 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,238,545. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $57.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $237.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.97.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $16,925,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782 shares during the period. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 472.3% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 43,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $10,105,000 after acquiring an additional 35,531 shares in the last quarter. 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.