Wealth Alliance Cuts Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wealth Alliance lessened its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,365 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $240.12 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $253.23 and its 200 day moving average is $230.45. The company has a market capitalization of $59.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

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.