Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC)’s stock price has gone decline by -0.08 in comparison to its previous close of 232.32, however, the company has experienced a 0.68% increase in its stock price over the last five trading days. Market Watch reported 2024-05-03 that Egan-Jones is the latest proxy advisory firm to step into the board battle between activist investor Ancora Holdings Group and railroad operator Norfolk Southern Corp.
Is It Worth Investing in Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) Right Now?
The price-to-earnings ratio for Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) is 37.31x, which is above its average ratio. Moreover, the 36-month beta value for NSC is 1.32. Analysts have varying opinions on the stock, with 4 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 4 as “overweight,” 17 as “hold,” and 2 as “sell.”
The public float for NSC is 225.79M and currently, short sellers hold a 0.67% of that float. On May 09, 2024, NSC’s average trading volume was 1.22M shares.
NSC’s Market Performance
NSC’s stock has seen a 0.68% increase for the week, with a -8.39% drop in the past month and a -7.35% fall in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 2.16%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 2.48% for Norfolk Southern Corp. The simple moving average for the past 20 days is -3.19% for NSC’s stock, with a 2.68% simple moving average for the past 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of NSC
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for NSC stocks, with Jefferies repeating the rating for NSC by listing it as a “Buy.” The predicted price for NSC in the upcoming period, according to Jefferies is $300 based on the research report published on April 08, 2024 of the current year 2024.
TD Cowen, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see NSC reach a price target of $253, previously predicting the price at $236. The rating they have provided for NSC stocks is “Market Perform” according to the report published on March 21st, 2024.
UBS gave a rating of “Buy” to NSC, setting the target price at $302 in the report published on March 04th of the current year.
NSC Trading at -6.69% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought NSC to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -11.95% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 2.48%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 2.16%, as shares sank -7.01% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading -8.06% lower at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, NSC rose by +0.68%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by -1.37% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $238.90. In addition, Norfolk Southern Corp. saw -1.79% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further losses.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at NSC starting from Shaw Alan H., who sale 2,000 shares at the price of $209.55 back on Jun 01 ’23. After this action, Shaw Alan H. now owns 30,654 shares of Norfolk Southern Corp., valued at $419,100 using the latest closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for NSC
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- 0.16 for the present operating margin
- 0.42 for the gross margin
The net margin for Norfolk Southern Corp. stands at 0.13. The total capital return value is set at 0.05. Equity return is now at value 11.17, with 3.47 for asset returns.
Based on Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC), the company’s capital structure generated 0.58 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at 0.16. The debt to equity ratio resting at 1.4. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 2.55.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 2.85 billion with net debt to EBITDA at 6.97. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 5.77. The receivables turnover for the company is 10.04for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.29. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 0.68.
Conclusion
To wrap up, the performance of Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) has been mixed in recent times. The stock has received a bullish of “buy” and “hold” ratings from analysts. It’s important to note that the stock is currently trading at a significant distance from its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
