Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $275.68.

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

NSC opened at $276.11 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $255.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.63.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.