Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Has $4.07 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lowered its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,334 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 3,702 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 valued at $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,796,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $309,000. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,703,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna decreased 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. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $239.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 957,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,426. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $226.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.36. The company has a market cap of $54.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30.

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 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. Norfolk Southern's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is presently 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.