Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 131,823 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,673 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $31,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,654 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $235.55 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.21 billion, a PE ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern 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.