Brokerages Set Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Price Target at $293.25

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $293.80.

Several brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,680,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710,930 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $613,255,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $321,393,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 550.6% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 983,366 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $251,712,000 after buying an additional 832,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $181,995,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $289.87 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $302.24. The company has a market capitalization of $65.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $284.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $258.63.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.49%.

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.