Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) in a research note issued on Monday, November 13th, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $126.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock. Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 13.04% from the stock’s current price.
A number of other research firms have also recently commented on NSC. Zacks Investment Research cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $127.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. TD Securities lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. ValuEngine cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, Aegis reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 target price (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.62.
Norfolk Southern (NSC) traded down $0.41 during trading on Monday, reaching $144.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 698,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,362,193. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $105.89 and a one year high of $146.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $41,462.99, a PE ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.38.
Norfolk Southern declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, September 26th that authorizes the company to buyback 50,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the railroad operator to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
In related news, VP Thomas E. Hurlbut sold 2,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.71, for a total transaction of $319,262.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,102.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas E. Hurlbut sold 6,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.61, for a total value of $800,341.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $980,888.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,113 shares of company stock worth $1,594,148. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,251,999 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,464,667,000 after acquiring an additional 700,567 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,097,333 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,445,845,000 after acquiring an additional 631,018 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,960,797 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,451,226,000 after acquiring an additional 281,088 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,618,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $805,530,000 after acquiring an additional 762,416 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,343,533 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $772,007,000 after acquiring an additional 925,496 shares during the period. 72.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern Corporation is a holding company engaged in the rail transportation business. As of December 31, 2016, the Company operated approximately 19,500 miles of road primarily in the East and Midwest. The Company is engaged in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products and finished goods primarily in the Southeast, East and Midwest.
