Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Given Underweight Rating at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reiterated their underweight rating on shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $175.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on NSC. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $263.82.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE NSC opened at $220.87 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $223.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.86. 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 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $49.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 16.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,804 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 3,298 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 6.7% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 371,356 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $73,131,000 after buying an additional 23,474 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.4% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,695 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.