Rothschild & Co Redburn Lowers Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $308.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $317.00 to $308.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.57% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.89.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.7%

NSC stock traded up $2.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $289.02. The company had a trading volume of 756,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,925. The stock has a market cap of $70.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $299.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.89.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The business’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,012,836,000 after purchasing an additional 272,651 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,859,121 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,779,609,000 after purchasing an additional 192,567 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,803,630,000 after acquiring an additional 379,819 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,401,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,182,921 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,070,702,000 after acquiring an additional 184,586 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.