GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Reduces Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• GC Wealth Management RIA LLC cut its stake in Norfolk Southern by 50.1% in Q4, selling 3,688 shares and ending the quarter with 3,679 shares worth $1,062,000.
• Analyst views are mixed: Barclays upgraded NSC to "overweight" with a $360 target, but the MarketBeat consensus remains a "Hold" with an average target of $320.28.
• Norfolk Southern's latest quarter beat EPS estimates ($2.65 vs. $2.49) but missed revenue expectations, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 (annualized $5.40, ~1.7% yield).

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 50.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,679 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 3,688 shares during the quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $28,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NSC. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore set a $325.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $308.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $320.28.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $312.28 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $70.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $218.05 and a fifty-two week high of $323.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.

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