Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $262.89.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NSC opened at $214.69 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $227.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.93.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

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.