Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $300.00 to $320.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.50.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $298.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $301.47. The company has a market capitalization of $67.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $282.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 36.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 58.5% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.