Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock Position Raised by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,115 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 200.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 10,719 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $36,877,000 after purchasing an additional 16,727 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.4 %

NSC opened at $233.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.82 billion, a PE ratio of 37.65, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $250.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.40.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.