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

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price trimmed by Evercore ISI from $276.00 to $274.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup boosted 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $251.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $249.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.99. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $183.76 and a 52 week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 3,700 shares of company stock worth $921,565 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Boston Partners boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 347,852 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.