Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $320.6667.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Argus upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $313.48 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $218.05 and a 1 year high of $323.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $70.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $299.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.57.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.