Sanford C. Bernstein Cuts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $313.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target decreased by Sanford C. Bernstein from $322.00 to $313.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.89.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $288.18 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $319.94. The company has a market cap of $70.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $299.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 42.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

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.