Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Trading Up 6.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) traded up 6.6% on Thursday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $305.00 to $330.00. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Norfolk Southern traded as high as $318.60 and last traded at $318.0650. 484,159 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 1,290,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $298.33.

Several other brokerages have also commented on NSC. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.17.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,613 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,046,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 829 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $250,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 108,877 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $31,248,000 after purchasing an additional 3,603 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $77.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $299.37 and its 200-day moving average is $293.40.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 42.35%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.