Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Shares Gap Down to $232.14

Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $232.14, but opened at $219.98. Norfolk Southern shares last traded at $221.00, with a volume of 702,867 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.7 %

The company has a market cap of $51.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $248.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given 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 2.39%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.