Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $304.4737.

Several analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Jr. Clyburn bought 204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 545.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $329,629,000. Finally, HBK Investments L P increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 2,130,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $614,974,000 after purchasing an additional 860,000 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.7%

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $314.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $319.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 42.35%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.