JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $301.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $303.00 to $301.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NSC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $307.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.85.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $286.32 on Monday. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $302.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $289.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $283.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.19%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $282.97 per share, for a total transaction of $466,900.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,640. The trade was a 15.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 4,454 shares of company stock worth $1,259,874. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $826,128,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $613,255,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $321,393,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 545.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $329,629,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

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.