Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Has $705,000 Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,984 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $245.40. 602,468 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,258,502. The company has a market cap of $60.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 67.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern 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.