New York Life Investment Management LLC Buys 1,629 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 65,764 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $18,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,515 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 791 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 3,090 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 864 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on NSC. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.83.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $317.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $236.37 and a 12 month high of $323.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.87. The stock has a market cap of $71.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.