Sage Investment Advisers LLC Sells 100 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sage Investment Advisers LLC lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,585 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Sage Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after buying an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $469,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $232.14. 1,182,663 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,325,821. The firm has a market cap of $52.44 billion, a PE ratio of 37.33, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $248.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.41. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS 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. Investors 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 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.