Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $248.16, but opened at $257.55. Norfolk Southern shares last traded at $255.67, with a volume of 318,288 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.61.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $58.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

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.