Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Loop Capital

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) was downgraded by investment analysts at Loop Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $256.00 target price on the railroad operator’s stock, down from their prior target price of $289.00. Loop Capital’s price target points to a potential upside of 0.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $255.44 on Monday. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $248.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $57.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 46,058 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $11,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,008 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 22.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 8.7% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 8,181 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.3% during the third quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,702 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.