Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Reaves W H & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. cut its Norfolk Southern stake by 20% in the fourth quarter, selling 32,700 shares and leaving it with 131,000 shares valued at about $37.8 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on the railroad operator: the stock has an average rating of Hold with an average target price of $319.83, though some firms recently raised price targets and issued bullish calls.
• Norfolk Southern reported Q1 earnings of $2.65 per share, topping estimates, and continues paying a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, equal to a 1.8% annualized yield.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 32,700 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned about 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $37,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 669.2% in the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.83.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $304.99 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $241.82 and a 1 year high of $326.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $303.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.38. The company has a market cap of $68.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is presently 45.49%.

About Norfolk Southern

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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