Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective decreased by Bank of America from $292.00 to $272.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

NSC has been the subject of several other research reports. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.63.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $233.85 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $245.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.52. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $52.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after buying an additional 139,485 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,318,716,000 after acquiring an additional 196,249 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,020,318,000 after purchasing an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently 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.