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

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) shares shot up 6.6% during mid-day trading 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 traded hands during 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 equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on NSC. Weiss Ratings upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $299.37 and a 200-day moving average of $293.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.81 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.