Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NSC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $303.02 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.55. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $319.94. The firm has a market cap of $68.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.35%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,012,836,000 after acquiring an additional 272,651 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,859,121 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,779,609,000 after purchasing an additional 192,567 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,803,630,000 after purchasing an additional 379,819 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,401,797,000 after buying an additional 36,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,182,921 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,070,702,000 after buying an additional 184,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.