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

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $262.33.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 852 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $81,000. United Bank grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 7,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,464,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,946 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $245.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $253.91 and its 200-day moving average is $230.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.