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

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Loop Capital from $261.00 to $270.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Loop Capital’s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.90% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Benchmark increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $241.28 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $59.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $252.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.80.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 200.1% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 10,719 shares during the period. ClearBridge Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,877,000 after buying an additional 16,727 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.