Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Upgraded by Stephens to "Hold" Rating

Key Points

• Stephens upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating, adding to a mixed set of recent analyst views on the railroad operator.
• The broader analyst consensus on NSC remains “Hold”, with 7 Buy ratings and 17 Hold ratings and a consensus price target of $322.83.
• Norfolk Southern shares were down 1.0% to $319.66, after the company recently reported Q1 EPS of $2.65, topping estimates but missing revenue expectations.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Stephens to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

NSC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Norfolk Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $322.83.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:NSC opened at $319.66 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $257.49 and a 12 month high of $326.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.61.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 12.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $6,012,836,000 after purchasing an additional 272,651 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 buying an additional 379,819 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 36,205 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,084,701,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 3,019,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $871,646,000 after buying an additional 269,000 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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