Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,143 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,143 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 35.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 14,810 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,917,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 110,341 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $21,729,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 40,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $7,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,649 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NSC. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NSC stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $235.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,072,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,953. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $249.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.59. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.21 billion, a PE ratio of 37.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 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 (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 net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.