Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $270.00 at Loop Capital

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Loop Capital from $261.00 to $270.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Loop Capital’s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.69% from the stock’s current price.

NSC has been the subject of several other reports. TheStreet upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NSC stock traded up $4.58 on Thursday, reaching $243.92. The company had a trading volume of 209,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,265,555. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $60.06 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $253.51 and a 200-day moving average of $230.38. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after buying an additional 264,031 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,233,372 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,946,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810,658 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,861,818 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,385,618,000 after purchasing an additional 104,502 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,112,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $869,600,000 after purchasing an additional 13,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.