Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Research Coverage Started at Citigroup

Citigroup began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $294.00 price objective on the railroad operator’s stock.

NSC has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $250.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $56.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $246.64 and its 200-day moving average is $236.77.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 7,451 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,530,000. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 96,384 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $22,783,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 4,023 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 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.