Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $337.00 at Susquehanna

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $330.00 to $337.00 in a research report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective points to a potential upside of 7.59% from the company’s previous close.

NSC has been the subject of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $6.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $313.22. 67,042 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,260,176. The company has a market capitalization of $70.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $247.85 and a 1-year high of $326.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $305.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,279 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Blue Edge Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 99.3% in the 1st quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $858,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $344,000. Keel Point LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the first quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 7,557 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carlson Capital L.P. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 52.6% during the first quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. now owns 8,700 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,497,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.