Rothschild & Co Redburn Issues Positive Forecast for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock Price

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price increased by Rothschild & Co Redburn from $299.00 to $317.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eighteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $7.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $303.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,832,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,308,610. The stock has a market cap of $68.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $319.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $300.10 and its 200-day moving average is $291.55. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 42.35%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,859,121 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,779,609,000 after purchasing an additional 192,567 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,401,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,182,921 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,070,702,000 after purchasing 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.