Stephens Reaffirms "Equal Weight" Rating for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Stephens in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $263.00 target price on the railroad operator's stock. Stephens' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 2.34% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $3.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $256.98. 1,553,996 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,259,925. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a PEG 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. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66.

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

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 1,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade 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 Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Boston Partners lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first 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. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $956,285,000 after buying an additional 347,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,037.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 349,143 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $86,762,000 after buying an additional 347,634 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.