Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) PT Lowered to $260.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a buy rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $214.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $227.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.82. The stock has a market cap of $48.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.32 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $556,797,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $241,421,000 after acquiring an additional 875,473 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.