Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) PT Raised to $275.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $275.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 10.15% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on NSC. Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $250.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.72.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $249.65 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $254.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.77. The company has a market cap of $61.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.5% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,772 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 175.4% during the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 942 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the first quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 12,081 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,079,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,117 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 39,744 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $10,130,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.