Susquehanna Boosts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $270.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective upped by Susquehanna from $245.00 to $270.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.16% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $250.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.38.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NSC stock traded up $0.23 on Thursday, hitting $251.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 231,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,355,880. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $250.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted 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 return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 852 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $81,000. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 7,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 13.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,946 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.