Norfolk Southern's (NSC) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $277.00 price target on the railroad operator's stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Norfolk Southern from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $272.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised Norfolk Southern from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $4.47 on Thursday, hitting $240.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,854,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,560. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $59.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $252.07 and a 200 day moving average of $232.18.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.32 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by 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.