Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $330.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $360.00 to $330.00 in a research note issued on Thursday. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 4.70% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $363.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore set a $358.00 target price on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $350.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $315.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $334.66 and a 200-day moving average of $316.08. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $277.80 and a 12-month high of $358.60. The stock has a market cap of $70.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 7.6% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,637 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 47.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,707 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $93,000. HBK Investments L P raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.8% during the second quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 1,750,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $550,532,000 after purchasing an additional 13,644 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $209,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major freight railroad company serving the eastern United States. Through its railway network, the company transports raw materials, intermediate goods and finished products for industrial, agricultural, manufacturing and consumer markets. Its operations connect customers with domestic markets, major ports and other rail carriers.

The company transports a diverse range of commodities, including intermodal containers, coal, automotive products, agriculture and consumer goods, chemicals, metals, forest products and construction materials.