Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Lowered to $245.00 at Susquehanna

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective cut by Susquehanna from $265.00 to $245.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on NSC. UBS Group decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a buy rating and a $300.00 price target 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.2 %

NSC stock opened at $209.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $228.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.07. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $47.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Claude Mongeau bought 5,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,420,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.