Sanford C. Bernstein Has Lowered Expectations for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price cut by Sanford C. Bernstein from $322.00 to $313.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.25% from the company’s current price.

NSC has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:NSC traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $283.91. 273,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,250,374. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $299.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.81. The firm has a market cap of $63.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $319.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.