Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $330.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective cut by Royal Bank Of Canada from $360.00 to $330.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on NSC. Stephens upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $363.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $350.50.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:NSC opened at $312.93 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $333.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.13. The company has a market capitalization of $70.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $277.80 and a 52-week high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,033,549,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,084,701,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $978,977,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $503,093,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $364,414,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major freight railroad company serving the eastern United States. Through its railway network, the company transports raw materials, intermediate goods and finished products for industrial, agricultural, manufacturing and consumer markets. Its operations connect customers with domestic markets, major ports and other rail carriers.

The company transports a diverse range of commodities, including intermodal containers, coal, automotive products, agriculture and consumer goods, chemicals, metals, forest products and construction materials.