Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Norfolk Southern Corporation has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from 21 brokerages, with 14 analysts recommending a hold and 7 a buy, and an average target price of $285.15.
• Recent analyst activity includes upgrades and downgrades, with UBS raising their target price to $279.00 and Royal Bank Of Canada downgrading to a hold rating.
• Institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Norfolk Southern, with some firms like Golden State Wealth Management raising their investment by 883.3%.

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fourteen 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 brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $285.15.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $16,925,000 after buying an additional 2,782 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 472.3% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 43,054 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $10,105,000 after acquiring an additional 35,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $284.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $63.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.31. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $269.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.54. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $288.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.