Davidson Trust Co. Takes $236,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Davidson Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 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. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $1.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $242.04. The company had a trading volume of 228,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,369. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.45. The firm has a market cap of $59.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.33%.

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.