Susquehanna Has Lowered Expectations for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Susquehanna from $285.00 to $265.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Susquehanna’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.41% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $2.01 on Wednesday, reaching $235.75. The company had a trading volume of 124,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 792,793. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $254.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.42. The firm has a market cap of $53.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at $31,000. 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.