Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $302.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Citigroup from $294.00 to $302.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the railroad operator's stock. Citigroup's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.96% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $266.61.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of NSC traded up $12.27 on Tuesday, hitting $260.43. 2,284,178 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,257,816. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $58.83 billion, a PE ratio of 41.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $813,554,000 after buying an additional 37,386 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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