Alpine Bank Wealth Management Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,092 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,206,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $4,714,927,000 after purchasing an additional 139,485 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $931,426,000 after purchasing an additional 75,865 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $255.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,402,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,984. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $238.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.21. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $57.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.40% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. The company's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.71.

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.