Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $504,000 Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 31.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,131 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23.6% in the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,403 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $2.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $242.56. The stock had a trading volume of 183,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,260,715. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $59.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $253.23 and its 200 day moving average is $230.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NSC. UBS Group upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

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.