Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have issued a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $301.10.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $397,900.80. The trade was a 38.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,973,020. The trade was a 59.09% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $292.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.67. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 41.19%.

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.