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

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $329.3529.

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

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

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $340.24 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $76.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $342.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $314.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.50.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 45.49%.

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.