Cox Capital Mgt LLC Boosts Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cox Capital Mgt LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern accounts for 1.5% of Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $30,000. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $31,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $31,000. Newfound Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Insight Inv LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.98% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $3.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $203.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,713,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,498. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $202.40 and a 12-month high of $291.55.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.01. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.66 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 2nd. This is an increase from Norfolk Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 38.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $266.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $256.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $244.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.17.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.