Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NSC opened at $314.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $319.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.35%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director William Jr. Clyburn bought 204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.