Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $377.00 at Robert W. Baird

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price lifted by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $360.00 to $377.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.20% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $345.35.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $351.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $78.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $358.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $317.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.29.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 12.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,012,836,000 after purchasing an additional 272,651 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,803,630,000 after buying an additional 379,819 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,401,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,205 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,084,701,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 3,019,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $871,646,000 after buying an additional 269,000 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.