Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Cut to $290.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Barclays from $305.00 to $290.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 23.00% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.05.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $235.78. The company had a trading volume of 46,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,207,576. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.86. The company has a market capitalization of $53.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. United Bank raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,205,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $1,346,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,830 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 47.5% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 7,457 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.