Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $309.99 and last traded at $308.58, with a volume of 67664 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $305.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a report on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $69.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $292.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.10.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 42.35%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total transaction of $253,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $397,900.80. The trade was a 38.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This trade represents a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 545.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $329,629,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 550.6% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 983,366 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $251,712,000 after buying an additional 832,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

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.