Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Upgraded to "Outperform" at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $270.00 price objective on the railroad operator's stock.

NSC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 13th. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $277.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $261.78.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:NSC traded down $4.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $226.30. 1,109,827 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,374,512. The company has a market capitalization of $51.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $242.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.08. Norfolk Southern has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company's revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

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.