UBS Group Cuts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $294.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at UBS Group from $302.00 to $294.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 23.71% from the stock’s current price.

NSC has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC traded up $1.43 on Thursday, hitting $237.65. 431,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,271,105. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $252.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.12.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 93.8% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 476.2% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,688 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after buying an additional 8,833 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 12,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 39,677 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $7,814,000 after buying an additional 12,729 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.