Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $350.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $386.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $358.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Wednesday.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,294 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,636,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,120 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,637 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 47.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,707 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $93,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:NSC opened at $317.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $277.80 and a 1-year high of $358.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $330.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $316.72.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is a transportation company that operates one of the largest rail networks in the eastern United States. Through its principal subsidiary, Norfolk Southern Railway, the company provides freight rail transportation and related services for industrial, agricultural and consumer markets.

Norfolk Southern’s network serves 22 states and the District of Columbia, connecting major ports, manufacturing centers and distribution hubs across the East Coast and the Midwest.