Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Receives $282.50 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $285.15.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. Baird R W upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $278.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.6%

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $279.45 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.79. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $288.11.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.89%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the second quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,466 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.7% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 30.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 304 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.