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

Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $276.11.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. Stephens increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $242.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.71.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after acquiring an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $918,000. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 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.