Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $294.00 Price Target at UBS Group

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

NSC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Norfolk Southern from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $239.94 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.20 billion, a PE ratio of 38.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $605,331,000 after buying an additional 26,686 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after buying an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $469,764,000 after acquiring an additional 73,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $556,797,000. Hedge funds and other 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.