Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Cut to “Hold” at Loop Capital

Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $256.00 price objective on the railroad operator’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $289.00.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on NSC. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $252.66 on Monday. 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 current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $247.98 and its 200-day moving average is $249.47. The company has a market capitalization of $57.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price 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. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,796,000. 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.