Stonegate Investment Group LLC Has $4.55 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,864 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 746 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 200.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 10,719 shares during the period. ClearBridge Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,877,000 after buying an additional 16,727 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lowered Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC traded down $11.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $230.32. 3,569,162 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,320,261. The company has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $251.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.41.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

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.