Brokerages Set Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) PT at $275.68

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $275.68.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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 increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $268.95 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,038 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,556 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,133,828,000 after buying an additional 62,186 shares in the last quarter. 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.