Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Decreases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI decreased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,076 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 9,340 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,192,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,239 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,403,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $251.39 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $56.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.48.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 36.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.24.

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.