Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Uncommon Cents Investing LLC

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,260 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up approximately 2.1% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,860,404 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,596,505,000 after acquiring an additional 465,902 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after acquiring an additional 264,031 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,112,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $869,600,000 after acquiring an additional 13,513 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,331,000 after buying an additional 26,686 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 95,518.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,028,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $746,217,000 after buying an additional 3,025,065 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $254.87 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.30. The company has a market cap of $62.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.30. 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 data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.14 EPS for the current 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 issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $238.00 to $237.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.38.

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.