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Cerity Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Norfolk Southern logo with Transportation background

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 178,771 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,654 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Norfolk Southern worth $42,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,082 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,054 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $952,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NSC opened at $266.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $60.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 2.15 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. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $247.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.67.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 36.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $259.00 to $288.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $258.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.80.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on NSC

About Norfolk Southern

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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