Mather Group LLC. Has $769,000 Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,255 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 317.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $230.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $251.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.41. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.30.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NSC. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

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.