Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,586 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $848,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NSC. TD Cowen lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2 %

NSC traded up $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.03. 1,114,960 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,265,471. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $252.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.71. The firm has a market cap of $60.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 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.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

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.