Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $290.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target raised by Bank of America from $280.00 to $290.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.48.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $262.50 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $244.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.74. The company has a market cap of $59.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.40% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 36.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 304 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the first quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 4,644 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.