Farther Finance Advisors LLC Buys 3,147 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 110.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,009 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 3,147 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $931,426,000 after acquiring an additional 75,865 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $3.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $248.30. The stock had a trading volume of 916,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,234,234. The business's 50-day moving average is $232.84 and its 200 day moving average is $239.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $55.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.