Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Cut to $274.00 by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price decreased by analysts at Evercore ISI from $276.00 to $274.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on NSC. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.83.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.4 %

NSC stock traded down $3.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $256.71. The company had a trading volume of 290,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,253,690. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a PE ratio of 41.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $248.46 and a 200 day moving average of $236.73. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.15. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $956,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $846,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $583,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.