Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Lowered to $267.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $270.00 to $267.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

NSC has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $239.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a buy rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an underweight rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $247.63 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $55.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $222.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.76.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.0% during the second quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 8,561 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.7% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 41,883 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,712 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 24.6% during the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 23.6% during the second quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,069 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 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.