Benchmark Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $277.00 price objective on the railroad operator’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.45% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $239.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $251.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.49. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors 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.