Bank of America Raises Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $305.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective increased by Bank of America from $290.00 to $305.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.11% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on NSC. Baird R W raised Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $258.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $259.00 to $288.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.55.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $277.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $252.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.71. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $280.00. The company has a market cap of $62.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.