Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Raised to “Buy” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday, The Fly reports. Citigroup currently has $257.00 target price on the railroad operator’s stock, up from their previous target price of $226.00.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on NSC. VNET Group reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a conviction-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $235.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $247.00 to $243.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $242.48.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $211.22 on Monday. Norfolk Southern has a 12 month low of $196.33 and a 12 month high of $264.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $207.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.29.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The railroad operator reported $3.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 25.76% and a net margin of 23.40%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 5th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 4th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $356,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $12,918,000. Old North State Trust LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 280.8% during the first quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 5,088 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.8% during the first quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 11,551 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $1,076,000. 72.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.