Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) was downgraded by research analysts at Susquehanna Bancshares to a "neutral" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Stock Target Advisor reports. They currently have a $218.00 price objective on the railroad operator's stock, down from their previous price objective of $275.00. Susquehanna Bancshares' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.95% from the stock's previous close.
A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Friday, July 15th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $274.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 1st. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $277.40.
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Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.4 %
Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $213.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $50.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $211.66 and a 1 year high of $299.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $245.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.16.
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 27th. The railroad operator reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.01. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net
margin of 25.57%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.28 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13.69 earnings per share for the current year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director James A. Squires sold 105,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.81, for a total value of $26,229,550.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 42,728 shares in the company, valued at $10,631,153.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 100,090 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $29,798,000 after acquiring an additional 7,965 shares during the period. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,382 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 626 Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $7,741,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,263 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,460,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.44% of the company's stock.
Norfolk Southern Company Profile
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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, scrap paper, beverages, canned goods, and consumer products; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, and sand; 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.
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