Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,833 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $13,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $223.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $225.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its 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). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.89%.

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.