Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Trading Down 4% - Time to Sell?

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $261.94 and last traded at $251.50. Approximately 918,034 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 1,233,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $262.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $267.48.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $244.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.40% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.89%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $4,813,114,000 after buying an additional 232,195 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,680,910,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $983,161,000 after acquiring an additional 138,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,998,335 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $947,006,000 after acquiring an additional 29,753 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.