Tufton Capital Management Sells 1,359 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Tufton Capital Management trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,873 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,359 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern comprises approximately 1.8% of Tufton Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 767 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 20,479 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $984,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $281,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $4.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $243.56. 201,230 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,265,261. The firm has a market cap of $59.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $253.51 and its 200 day moving average is $230.38. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

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.