VCI Wealth Management LLC Reduces Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

VCI Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,200 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 1,090 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $547,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $234,433,000 after acquiring an additional 985,938 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 293.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $157,643,000 after purchasing an additional 501,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $721,452,000 after purchasing an additional 371,589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. 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 note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.25.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE NSC traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $278.44. 608,512 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,267,869. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $288.50. The business's 50 day moving average is $252.39 and its 200-day moving average is $241.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 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.

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