Sanford C. Bernstein Cuts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $313.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective lowered by Sanford C. Bernstein from $322.00 to $313.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.25% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded up $1.58 on Tuesday, reaching $283.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 273,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,374. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $319.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $63.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $299.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.81.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.