Baxter Bros Inc. Has $4.70 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Baxter Bros Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,857 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 912 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.24.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $245.35 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $228.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.81. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 36.89%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.