Norfolk Southern’s (NSC) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Susquehanna

by · The Markets Daily

Susquehanna reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $260.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock, up from their previous price target of $250.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.71.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2%

NSC stock opened at $255.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $239.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.20. The company has a market cap of $57.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.49 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $16,925,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 472.3% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 43,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $10,105,000 after purchasing an additional 35,531 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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