Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) PT Raised to $270.00 at Susquehanna

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) had its target price upped by Susquehanna from $245.00 to $270.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the railroad operator's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet upgraded Norfolk Southern from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Norfolk Southern from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $233.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $252.38.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NSC traded up $3.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $254.87. 979,908 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,370,691. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30. The business's 50-day moving average price is $251.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. Norfolk Southern's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,233,372 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,946,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810,658 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,861,818 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,385,618,000 after purchasing an additional 104,502 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,112,708 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $869,600,000 after purchasing an additional 13,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.