Brokerages Set Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Price Target at $262.32

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $262.32.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NSC opened at $230.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The stock has a market cap of $52.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.20.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. 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

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,762,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.