Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 60 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,235 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,210,507 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $284,106,000 after acquiring an additional 186,782 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,515,000. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 65,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $15,256,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,916 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the period. Finally, Sone Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,525,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $243.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.37. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 36.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.50.

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.