Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $277.00 price objective on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and dropped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a buy rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $239.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $54.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 0.68. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.71.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.32 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $469,764,000 after buying an additional 73,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $556,797,000. 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.