Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 334 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $79,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 304 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Shayne & Jacobs LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 2,451 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.24.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $250.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $229.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.44. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.89%.

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.