Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Loop Capital

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) was downgraded by analysts at Loop Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $256.00 target price on the railroad operator’s stock, down from their prior target price of $289.00. Loop Capital’s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.13% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $253.14 on Monday. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $57.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 46,058 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $11,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,008 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 8.7% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 8,181 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,033,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.3% during the third quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,702 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Norfolk Southern

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.