Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays from $305.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 31.62% from the stock’s previous close.

NSC has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.74.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $220.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $243.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $248.59. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after purchasing an additional 139,485 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after acquiring an additional 196,249 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares in 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.