Argus Lowers Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) to Hold

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) was downgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on NSC. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $266.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $244.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 29th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $207.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $202.40 and a 12-month high of $291.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.63.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 14.6% in the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 8.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 669,979 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $148,535,000 after acquiring an additional 52,481 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 378,114 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $81,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,494 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 36.4% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 9,368 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,964,000 after acquiring an additional 2,499 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during the third quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. 72.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Norfolk Southern

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.