Colonial Trust Co SC Buys 152 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,294 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $220.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $49.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $243.36.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.89%.

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.