Evercore ISI Reaffirms "In-Line" Rating for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)

Key Points

• Norfolk Southern's stock rating was reaffirmed as "in-line" by Evercore ISI, with a new price target of $289.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.01%.
• Other analysts have also given various ratings, with JPMorgan Chase raising their target to $288.00 and TD Cowen upgrading their rating to "buy" with a target of $323.00.
• Norfolk Southern reported earnings of $3.29 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.24 EPS.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "in-line" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Evercore ISI in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $289.00 price objective on the railroad operator's stock, up from their prior price objective of $279.00. Evercore ISI's price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.98% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $259.00 to $288.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, TD Cowen raised Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $323.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $275.30. 617,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,521,521. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $288.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.45. The stock has a market cap of $61.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,680,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710,930 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $321,393,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $234,433,000 after acquiring an additional 985,938 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 341.9% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 789,950 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $187,100,000 after acquiring an additional 611,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $122,256,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Norfolk Southern

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.