Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Rating Reiterated by Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $277.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $272.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a buy rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $240.83 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $252.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.18. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $59.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 86.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $556,797,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,261 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $241,421,000 after acquiring an additional 875,473 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after acquiring an additional 577,171 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $103,223,000. 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.