Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $24.95 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,319 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 6,718 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $24,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 151.5% during the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 3,941 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 31,128 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $7,373,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the first quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 40,260 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $9,536,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.7% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.1% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,615 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $250.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $56.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $234.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.40% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.24.

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.