Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $300.00 to $290.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on NSC. Bank of America decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $230.41 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $245.28 and its 200 day moving average is $249.08. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $52.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $547,575,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third 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 during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $207,830,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in 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 period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.