Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $266.56.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 80,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $18,972,000 after buying an additional 6,764 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 20,325 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,879 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 198,626 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $46,951,000 after purchasing an additional 6,414 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 3,210 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 22,763 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $247.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $56.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.05.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.