Susquehanna Cuts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $265.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price lowered by Susquehanna from $285.00 to $265.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.4 %

NSC opened at $233.62 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $52.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.