1,300 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Bought by Lyell Wealth Management LP

Lyell Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,300 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,331,000 after acquiring an additional 26,686 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,261 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $469,764,000 after acquiring an additional 73,149 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,001,507 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $394,157,000 after acquiring an additional 49,224 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $4.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $240.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,413,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,280,564. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $59.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $252.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.12. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 67.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

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.