Norfolk Southern's (NSC) Buy (B-) Rating Reaffirmed at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Norfolk Southern's stock has maintained a "buy (B-)" rating by Weiss Ratings, despite mixed reviews from other research firms.
• The company recently reported earnings of $3.29 per share, exceeding analyst expectations and indicating strong financial performance.
• Institutional investors hold 75.10% of Norfolk Southern's stock, reflecting significant market confidence in the company's future prospects.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating restated by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

NSC has been the topic of several other research reports. Benchmark downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $293.25.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE NSC traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $296.27. 59,819 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,613,431. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $302.24. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $283.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.33. 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 results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 58.5% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

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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