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

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $274.16.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $250.09 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $190.01 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $250.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.10. The firm has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.