Analysts Set Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) PT at $348.00

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $348.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens raised Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore set a $358.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $12,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $3,669,000. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,837,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,376,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $328.07 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $268.23 and a 12 month high of $358.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $315.57. The firm has a market cap of $73.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.