Davidson Trust Co. Invests $236,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Davidson Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 23.6% in the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,403 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $242.04. The company had a trading volume of 228,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,369. The company has a market capitalization of $59.59 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $253.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $230.45. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NSC. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.74.

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.