Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Cresset Asset Management LLC

Cresset Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,413 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 10,472 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $547,575,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,020,318,000 after buying an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after buying an additional 580,293 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 293.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $157,643,000 after buying an additional 501,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $308,607,000 after acquiring an additional 469,558 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $220.11 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $49.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $226.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.36. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.10.

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.