Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $245.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $265.00 to $245.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.04% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.44.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.8 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $218.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $49.40 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $229.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.32 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after acquiring an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,525,699,000 after purchasing an additional 124,362 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after buying an additional 347,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently 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.