Blue Chip Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,654 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 47 shares during the quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 200.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares in the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,877,000 after acquiring an additional 16,727 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $239.94 on Monday. 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 market cap of $54.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a PEG ratio of 3.31 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.92.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. UBS Group lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.