Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given New $296.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $301.00 to $296.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on NSC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.53.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $291.40 on Friday. Norfolk Southern has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $302.24. The company has a market capitalization of $65.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $290.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.67.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.19%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $282.97 per share, with a total value of $466,900.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,640. The trade was a 15.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $397,900.80. This represents a 38.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,012,836,000 after acquiring an additional 272,651 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,859,121 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,779,609,000 after purchasing an additional 192,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,822,075 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,228,064,000 after purchasing an additional 36,362 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,182,921 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,070,702,000 after purchasing an additional 184,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,289,431 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $841,994,000 after purchasing an additional 201,861 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Norfolk Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Norfolk Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NSC reported quarterly EPS that beat consensus (reported $3.22 vs. ~ $2.76 expected), driven by pricing and cost control that lifted margins and helped results despite softer volumes. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company highlighted sustained productivity improvements and over $215 million in annual savings for the full year, which supports cashflow and profitability going forward. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Operating-performance metrics beat some expectations (operating ratio ~68.5%), and management emphasized cost discipline as a buffer against a challenging macro backdrop. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript, slide deck and detailed presentation are available for investors who want forward guidance and segment-level color. These materials are useful for assessing whether productivity gains and pricing can continue. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Benzinga ran an “Expert Outlook” summarizing the views of eight analysts — useful for gauging consensus and differing assumptions on volumes, pricing and margin recovery. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue slightly missed expectations (reported ~$3.0B vs. ~$3.03B consensus), reflecting weaker volumes — a reminder that top-line risk remains if demand softens. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Two large firms trimmed price targets (JPMorgan: $301 → $296; Citigroup: $317 → $300) and keep neutral ratings, which caps near-term analyst-driven upside despite the beat. Read More.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.