Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Shares Gap Down to $232.14

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $232.14, but opened at $219.98. Norfolk Southern shares last traded at $221.00, with a volume of 702,867 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Norfolk Southern from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $51.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.45, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $248.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.40.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 47,459 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $12,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 136.8% during the first quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,025 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 97.1% in the first quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 7,238 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 3,565 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 270,826 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $69,025,000 after purchasing an additional 43,871 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 258,803 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $65,961,000 after buying an additional 23,035 shares during the last quarter. 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.