Evercore ISI Trims Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Target Price to $274.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI from $276.00 to $274.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the railroad operator's stock. Evercore ISI's target price suggests a potential upside of 6.62% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NSC. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned 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 $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded down $3.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $256.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,553,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,925. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $248.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.88. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $58.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. 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 the SEC website. In other 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 value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $742,440. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

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