Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $365.00 to $385.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.06% from the stock’s current price.

NSC has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday. Evercore set a $358.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $363.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.29.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $4.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $353.02. 285,138 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,224,154. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $316.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.84. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $268.23 and a 1-year high of $358.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 791 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 3,090 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 6,290 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

More Norfolk Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Norfolk Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Norfolk Southern beat estimates with adjusted EPS of $3.52 and revenue of about $3.46 billion, helped by record quarterly revenue, stronger freight demand, higher fuel surcharges, intermodal growth, and cost-cutting efforts. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company said rail revenue reached a record level, and multiple coverage pieces noted the earnings beat, improved demand trends, and volume growth as reasons investors bid the stock up. PR Newswire release
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst recap articles highlighted that stronger pricing and operating performance outweighed higher fuel costs and some margin pressure, supporting the bullish reaction. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s earnings-call messaging appeared focused on balancing growth and cost control, with investors likely watching for whether profitability can keep pace with revenue gains. TipRanks article
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted that the company’s profitability was lower even as revenue hit a record, which may temper some enthusiasm if margin compression continues. Seeking Alpha article
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, higher fuel expenses and weaker efficiency were cited as headwinds that could limit near-term margin expansion. Zacks article

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.