4,097 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Bought by St. Clair Advisors LLC

St. Clair Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,097 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $962,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $4,714,927,000 after buying an additional 139,485 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $931,426,000 after purchasing an additional 75,865 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $239.52. The company had a trading volume of 957,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,426. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.36.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a 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.