Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 110.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,234 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 4,325 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 852 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $81,000. United Bank increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 7,581 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,640 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,946 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded up $3.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $254.87. The stock had a trading volume of 979,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,370,691. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $62.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $251.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $215.00 to $207.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. TheStreet raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.38.

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.