Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $302.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $294.00 to $302.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NSC. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $251.09 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.76 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $249.01 and its 200 day moving average is $236.99. The company has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 quarterly 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 return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought 3,700 shares of company stock worth $921,565 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.