Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target upped by Citigroup from $302.00 to $316.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $261.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $59.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $205.70 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $252.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.64.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business 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 company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $31,000. 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.