KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 846 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 6.9% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,845 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.6% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 26,502 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,277,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 100.0% during the first quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 15.7% during the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,929 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.24.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $250.89 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $229.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $56.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 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.