Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $270.00 to $260.00. The stock had previously closed at $218.68, but opened at $213.19. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Norfolk Southern shares last traded at $209.75, with a volume of 298,127 shares.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.89.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 204.1% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 90,688 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $23,114,000 after buying an additional 60,870 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 45.9% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 96,621 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $24,266,000 after buying an additional 30,388 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $874,000. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $48.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.22, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.25.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.