Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 42,818 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 559 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $10,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 317.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $241.28 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $59.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $252.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.80. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

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.