Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,114 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NSC. Morgan Stanley lowered Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.8 %

NSC stock opened at $232.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The stock has a market cap of $52.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $248.82 and its 200 day moving average is $234.41.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

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.