Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Now Covered by Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $293.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on NSC. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $243.89 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 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.