Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target Cut to $318.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $338.00 to $318.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on NSC. Weiss Ratings lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $358.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $386.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $348.75.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $316.53 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.08. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $277.80 and a one year high of $358.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 12.75 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 46.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,033,549,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $978,977,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,259,558 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $648,429,000 after acquiring an additional 46,127 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 24.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,226,885 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $639,116,000 after acquiring an additional 434,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Investments L P boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.8% in the second quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 1,750,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $550,532,000 after acquiring an additional 13,644 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is a transportation company that operates one of the largest rail networks in the eastern United States. Through its principal subsidiary, Norfolk Southern Railway, the company provides freight rail transportation and related services for industrial, agricultural and consumer markets.

Norfolk Southern’s network serves 22 states and the District of Columbia, connecting major ports, manufacturing centers and distribution hubs across the East Coast and the Midwest.