Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Upgraded at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on NSC. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.48.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $262.50 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $243.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.60. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $59.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.40% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 20.4% in the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 17,245 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,414,000 after buying an additional 2,916 shares during the last quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $2,167,000. Swedbank AB grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 125,592 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,746,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.1% in the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 21,178 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,016,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.