Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $245.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSCFree Report) had its price target lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $241.00 to $245.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an underweight rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $266.17.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on NSC

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $250.17 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $246.64 and a 200-day moving average of $236.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $56.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSCGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $813,554,000 after buying an additional 37,386 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)

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