Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $255.00 price objective on the railroad operator’s stock.

NSC has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.48.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2%

NSC opened at $262.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $243.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.60. Norfolk Southern has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $59.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.40% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $16,925,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 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.