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

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $272.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their target price for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $262.33.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $245.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $60.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $253.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.21.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,233,372 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,946,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810,658 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 104,502 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,112,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $869,600,000 after purchasing an additional 13,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.