Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Receives Buy Rating from Benchmark

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $277.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock. Benchmark’s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.56% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on NSC. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. One 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 MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $2.59 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $233.63. The company had a trading volume of 244,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,268,818. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $252.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.12. The stock has a market cap of $57.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently 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.