Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $308.95.

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Evercore raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 during the period. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $302.37 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $300.30 and its 200-day moving average is $291.77. The stock has a market cap of $67.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $319.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 42.35%.

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.