Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Increased to $277.00 by Analysts at Benchmark

by · The Cerbat Gem

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Free Report) had its price target increased by Benchmark from $250.00 to $277.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

NSC has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group upgraded Norfolk Southern from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday. One 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 MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $262.33.

Check Out Our Latest Report on NSC

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $245.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $253.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $60.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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