Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,115 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,843,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $240.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $54.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $227.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.56. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

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.