Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Boosts Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,245 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $22,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 304 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,507 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $239.52. The stock had a trading volume of 957,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,426. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.92 and a two-hundred 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.89%.

Norfolk Southern 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.