Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $274.84.

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $309,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.9 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $237.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $53.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $248.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.