Susquehanna Lowers Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $265.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) had its price target lowered by Susquehanna from $270.00 to $265.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the railroad operator's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $233.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $261.72.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.5 %

NSC stock traded down $3.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $249.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,070,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,096. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $61.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $254.19 and a 200 day moving average of $228.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. Norfolk Southern's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,360,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,762,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 43 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, 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.