Flputnam Investment Management Co. Decreases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,552 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 852 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $81,000. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 7,581 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,464,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,946 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.33.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.5 %

NSC stock opened at $239.34 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $253.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 67.33%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.