Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Susquehanna lowered their price target on the stock from $265.00 to $245.00. The stock had previously closed at $218.68, but opened at $213.19. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Norfolk Southern shares last traded at $209.75, with a volume of 298,127 shares traded.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.44.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, 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 value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $556,797,000. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after buying an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the 1st 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. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $241,421,000 after acquiring an additional 875,473 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 4.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $229.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

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.