Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Has $325,000 Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,375 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 317.1% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NSC stock traded down $0.59 on Monday, hitting $239.35. The stock had a trading volume of 786,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,285,040. The business has a 50 day moving average of $251.83 and a 200 day moving average of $232.92. The stock has a market cap of $54.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors 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 yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 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.