Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Raised to $298.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price hoisted by Evercore ISI from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,MarketScreener reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $278.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $288.00 target price (up previously from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $288.45.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $297.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $66.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.29. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $298.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $280.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.62.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $16,925,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $321,393,000. Finally, Pioneer Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $385,000. 75.10% of the stock is 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.