Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $265.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price reduced by Susquehanna from $270.00 to $265.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

NSC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday. They set a buy rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $261.72.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $249.65 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.33%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,233,372 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,946,204,000 after buying an additional 1,810,658 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,861,818 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,385,618,000 after buying an additional 104,502 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,112,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $869,600,000 after acquiring an additional 13,513 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,331,000 after acquiring an additional 26,686 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.