Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,998 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 40,861 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Norfolk Southern worth $35,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.2% in the first 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. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $81,000. United Bank increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 7,581 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,640 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,464,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,946 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC traded down $3.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $245.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,090,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 997,737. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $60.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $253.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet raised Norfolk Southern from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $262.33.

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.