Norfolk Southern’s (NSC) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $277.00 target price on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on NSC. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $240.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 0.68. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.29 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.18.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $556,797,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after buying an additional 1,112,261 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $241,421,000 after purchasing an additional 875,473 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $103,223,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.