Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Sells 233 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 233 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $11,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,403 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

NSC traded down $0.79 on Friday, hitting $240.04. The company had a trading volume of 748,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,282,345. The company has a market cap of $59.10 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.18.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

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.