Susquehanna Has Lowered Expectations for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price lowered by Susquehanna from $285.00 to $265.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $236.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $253.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.36. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $53.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 75.10% of the stock is 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.