Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 123 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,583 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $239.94 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $54.20 billion, a PE ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $251.83 and a 200-day moving average of $232.49.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio 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.