Analysts Set Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) PT at $348.00

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $348.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Stephens upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $363.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 40.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 185.1% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $329.07 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $335.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.76. The company has a market cap of $73.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $268.23 and a 12 month high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

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.