Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) PT Lowered to $294.00 at UBS Group

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price target reduced by UBS Group from $302.00 to $294.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. 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 report on Monday, January 22nd. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Benchmark restated a buy rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $239.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $54.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $251.83 and a 200-day moving average of $232.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Norfolk Southern has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 317.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.