JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $284.00 to $286.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.97% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $255.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $57.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.50%. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,318,716,000 after buying an additional 196,249 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,133,828,000 after buying an additional 62,186 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.7% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $967,340,000 after buying an additional 103,281 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after buying an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently 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.