Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $319.8333.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 239.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 5.5%

Shares of NSC opened at $307.69 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $241.82 and a 1 year high of $326.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $298.25. The stock has a market cap of $69.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 45.49%.

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.