Mill Capital Management LLC Sells 3,745 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Mill Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 29.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,181 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 3,745 shares during the period. Mill Capital Management LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after buying an additional 139,485 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth 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. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $931,426,000 after purchasing an additional 75,865 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $255.69. 1,402,752 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,144. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $238.71 and a 200 day moving average of $239.21. The company has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors 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 yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is 36.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $267.71.

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.