Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $260.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price decreased by analysts at Susquehanna from $265.00 to $260.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Susquehanna’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.84% from the stock’s current price.

NSC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $230.41 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $245.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $249.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $52.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % 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 Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NSC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $547,575,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,020,318,000 after purchasing an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after acquiring an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $207,830,000. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 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.