Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a "sell" to a "hold," and the analyst consensus is currently a Hold (six Buys, seventeen Holds) with an average price target of $320.67.
• Norfolk Southern beat on EPS with $2.65 versus a $2.49 estimate but missed revenue at $3.0 billion versus $3.13 billion; the quarter showed a strong net margin of 21.91% and ROE of 18.30%.
• The stock trades around $316 with a market cap of $71.03 billion and a P/E of 26.64, while institutional ownership is high at about 75%, led by increases from Vanguard and State Street and a new large stake from Norges Bank.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $320.67.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $316.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50-day moving average is $299.64 and its 200-day moving average is $294.35. Norfolk Southern has a fifty-two week low of $218.05 and a fifty-two week high of $323.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Norfolk Southern's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $6,012,836,000 after acquiring an additional 272,651 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,803,630,000 after acquiring an additional 379,819 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,401,797,000 after acquiring an additional 36,205 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,084,701,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 3,019,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $871,646,000 after acquiring an additional 269,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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