Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Raised to “Hold” at Argus

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) was upgraded by equities researchers at Argus to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on NSC. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $293.00 to $288.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:NSC opened at $313.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $319.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $297.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,389.95. This trade represents a 101.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in 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 buying an additional 379,819 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,797,000 after buying an additional 36,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,070,702,000 after buying an additional 184,586 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.