Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $284.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $305.00 to $284.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on NSC. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.74.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $238.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. 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 $54.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $244.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.79.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,714,927,000 after purchasing an additional 139,485 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after acquiring an additional 196,249 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,020,318,000 after purchasing an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.