GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 33,900 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $10,184,000. Norfolk Southern makes up approximately 1.6% of GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrity Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $506,000. Smith Moore & CO. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 3,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.9% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 34,836 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $10,465,000 after buying an additional 3,146 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,555 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $268,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.0%

NSC stock opened at $311.57 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $319.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $299.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.39.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.47.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.