Susquehanna Cuts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $350.00

Key Points

• Susquehanna lowered Norfolk Southern’s price target from $386 to $350 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying roughly 12.8% upside from the stock’s $310.41 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold,” based on seven Buy ratings and fourteen Hold ratings, with an average price target of $350.
• Norfolk Southern exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.52 in earnings per share and $3.46 billion in revenue; institutional investors own approximately 75.1% of the company.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $386.00 to $350.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the railroad operator's stock. Susquehanna's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.76% from the company's current price.

NSC has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $363.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $350.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $310.41 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $277.80 and a 52-week high of $358.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $331.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.72.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The business's revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $5,033,549,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $978,977,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,259,558 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $648,429,000 after purchasing an additional 46,127 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,226,885 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $639,116,000 after purchasing an additional 434,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,810,853 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $522,838,000 after purchasing an additional 5,729 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation NYSE: NSC is a transportation company that operates one of the largest rail networks in the eastern United States. Through its principal subsidiary, Norfolk Southern Railway, the company provides freight rail transportation and related services for industrial, agricultural and consumer markets.

Norfolk Southern's network serves 22 states and the District of Columbia, connecting major ports, manufacturing centers and distribution hubs across the East Coast and the Midwest.

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