Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY Sells 1,218 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY cut its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,576 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 1,218 shares during the period. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $547,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $234,433,000 after acquiring an additional 985,938 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings 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. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th 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, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 293.7% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $157,643,000 after acquiring an additional 501,053 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:NSC traded down $1.77 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $245.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,182,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,767. The company has a market cap of $55.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $277.60. The business's 50-day moving average is $228.16 and its 200-day moving average is $240.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NSC. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $267.24.

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.