Davidson Investment Advisors Sells 92 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Davidson Investment Advisors reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,976 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $13,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $16,925,000 after buying an additional 2,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NSC. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.48.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $262.50 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $59.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend 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.