Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Norfolk Southern Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from 21 analysts, with 14 recommending hold and 7 suggesting a buy, and an average price target of $285.15.
• The company's recent earnings report beat analysts' expectations, reporting $3.29 EPS on revenue of $3.11 billion, slightly above the forecast of $3.10 billion.
• Norfolk Southern announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $5.40 and a yield of 1.9%.

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $285.15.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and issued a $289.00 price objective (up from $279.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $277.03 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $291.69. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $276.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%.The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.49%.

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.

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