Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $293.00 price target on the railroad operator's stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft's price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.14% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.95.

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Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE:NSC traded up $5.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $243.89. 1,221,460 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,158,598. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $246.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.85. The company has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $4,714,927,000 after purchasing an additional 139,485 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 196,249 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.