Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) PT Raised to $277.00 at Benchmark

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Benchmark from $250.00 to $277.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Benchmark’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.93% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on NSC. Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.72.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $249.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $254.08 and its 200 day moving average is $228.91. The firm has a market cap of $61.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.