Citigroup Cuts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $259.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $298.00 to $259.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $215.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. 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 has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.89.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 15.7% during the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,929 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,328 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.9% during the first quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 10,831 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,565,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.0% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,614 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,277,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.