Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC Takes $287,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,213 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.48.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $261.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,002,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,235,054. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $59.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.31.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 36.89%.

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.