Evercore ISI Upgrades Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) to Outperform

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Wednesday, The Fly reports. The firm currently has a $242.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.95% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on NSC. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $273.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “conviction-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $177.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $235.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $240.04.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $216.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.75. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $196.33 and a one year high of $264.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $207.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.59.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The railroad operator reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.40% and a return on equity of 25.76%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.98% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.