Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $280.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $270.00 to $280.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $251.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $183.76 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.99. The firm has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 3,700 shares of company stock valued at $921,565. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 72.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 6.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,527 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $10,584,000 after buying an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.4% during the first quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 1,063 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.0% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth $56,144,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.