Schnieders Capital Management LLC Buys 60 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Schnieders Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,458 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 200.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares during the period. ClearBridge Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $36,877,000 after buying an additional 16,727 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded down $8.81 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $236.22. 2,444,060 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,277,042. The company has a market cap of $58.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $252.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.09. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.