Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Has $933,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 151.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,941 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 2,374 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $238,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 472.3% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 43,054 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $10,105,000 after acquiring an additional 35,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,263,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $248.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NSC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report).

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.