Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $260.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Benchmark restated a buy rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a buy rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $209.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $228.23 and a 200 day moving average of $239.07. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after buying an additional 264,031 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares during 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.