Visionary Wealth Advisors Acquires Shares of 5,559 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Visionary Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,559 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,305,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after acquiring an additional 139,485 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $945,385,000 after buying an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $931,426,000 after buying an additional 75,865 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $243.76 on Tuesday. 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 $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $226.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.37.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NSC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.