Clear Trail Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 5,156 Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Clear Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 5,156 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,480,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 229.8% during the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 5,616 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,612,000 after buying an additional 3,913 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. CPC Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. CPC Advisors LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.5% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,233 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 138.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 459,805 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $131,964,000 after acquiring an additional 267,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $303.66 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $68.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $251.62 and a 12-month high of $326.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $309.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.77.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. 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 business posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 45.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NSC. Zacks Research raised Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $322.71.

About Norfolk Southern

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.