Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,271 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth 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 period. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

NSC stock opened at $239.94 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $54.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $251.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

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.