Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $247.68.

NSC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $256.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $225.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director James A. Squires sold 21,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.76, for a total transaction of $5,227,806.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $246,005.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.98% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $228.39 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $203.65 and a 12 month high of $291.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.25.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 25.66%. The company’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13.66 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 2nd. This is a boost from Norfolk Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 38.85%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.