NBC Securities Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 115,400.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,155 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 304 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 2,451 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $267.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NSC opened at $250.89 on Friday. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $229.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.61. The firm has a market cap of $56.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 2.31 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 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 business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

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.

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