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

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $322.7059.

Several analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 545.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $329,629,000. Finally, HBK Investments L P increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 2,130,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $614,974,000 after acquiring an additional 860,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $300.38 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $300.56. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $250.65 and a 52 week high of $326.00.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.49%.

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.