Advisor OS LLC Acquires 78 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Advisor OS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,208 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the quarter. Advisor OS LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $536,319,000 after buying an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 73,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. 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 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.74.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

NSC stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $230.74. 115,612 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,364,651. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.19, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.19. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. 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.