Norfolk Southern's (NSC) "Neutral" Rating Reiterated at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• Norfolk Southern's stock retains a "neutral" rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co., with an updated target price of $288.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.46% from its current price.
• Other analysts have mixed opinions, with Goldman Sachs maintaining a "neutral" rating, while TD Cowen upgraded their rating to "buy" and raised their target price to $323.00.
• The company reported earnings of $3.29 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and has a market capitalization of $62.76 billion.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued their neutral rating on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a $288.00 target price on the railroad operator's stock, up from their previous target price of $282.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on NSC. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $278.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $1.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $275.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 524,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,520,900. The business has a fifty day moving average of $259.28 and a 200 day moving average of $244.45. Norfolk Southern has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $288.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $61.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.31.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $16,925,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 8.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.