Hickory Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,453 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,453 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $547,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 985,938 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,020,318,000 after buying an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $945,385,000 after buying an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake 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 buying an additional 501,053 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Susquehanna reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $3.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $248.30. 916,879 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,233,001. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $232.84 and a 200 day moving average of $240.12. The stock 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. 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.