Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Rating Lowered to "Neutral" at Citigroup

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $288.00 price objective on the railroad operator's stock, up from their prior price objective of $259.00. Citigroup's price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.21% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.80.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:NSC opened at $261.33 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $245.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,210 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,769 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $6,987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,082 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.

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