Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Boosts Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,081 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after buying an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after acquiring an additional 577,171 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $103,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $83,031,000 after purchasing an additional 349,778 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after acquiring an additional 264,031 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $10.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $234.05. 1,098,730 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,262,051. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $57.63 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.09.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.74.

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.