Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Stock Has Average Price Target of $350.50

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Norfolk Southern, with 14 hold ratings and 7 buy ratings among 21 brokerages. The average 12-month price target is $350.50, with recent targets ranging from $355 to $400.
• Norfolk Southern exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.52 versus the $3.32 consensus and revenue of $3.46 billion, up 12.5% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 75.1% of the company, while Norfolk Southern pays a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, equivalent to a 1.7% annual yield.

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $350.50.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore set a $358.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 7.6% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,637 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $5,234,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 47.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,707 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at $93,000. HBK Investments L P increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 1,750,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $550,532,000 after purchasing an additional 13,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $312.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $333.62 and a 200 day moving average of $316.13. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $277.80 and a 12 month high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is 46.08%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major freight railroad company serving the eastern United States. Through its railway network, the company transports raw materials, intermediate goods and finished products for industrial, agricultural, manufacturing and consumer markets. Its operations connect customers with domestic markets, major ports and other rail carriers.

The company transports a diverse range of commodities, including intermodal containers, coal, automotive products, agriculture and consumer goods, chemicals, metals, forest products and construction materials.

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