Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $294.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective reduced by UBS Group from $302.00 to $294.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and dropped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a buy rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $240.83 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business 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%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.32 EPS. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $556,797,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $241,421,000 after purchasing an additional 875,473 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $103,223,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.