Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 6,099 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,099 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,442,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $3.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $248.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 693,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,464. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $61.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.26.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 67.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group raised Norfolk Southern from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $215.00 to $207.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $233.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.38.

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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