Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Cut to $272.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price trimmed by Bank of America from $292.00 to $272.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on NSC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.63.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $233.85 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $245.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.52. The company has a market capitalization of $52.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.