Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $300.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $320.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.61% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on NSC. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

NSC opened at $236.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $53.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $253.87 and its 200 day moving average is $245.36. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently 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.