Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $274.16.

NSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 3,700 shares of company stock valued at $921,565. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $956,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $846,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $583,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $251.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $183.76 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

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.