Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $275.68.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NSC shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.0 %

NSC stock opened at $259.71 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Insider Activity

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 $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.