Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $28.74 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 4,743 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.05% of Norfolk Southern worth $28,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Greenline Partners LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 149 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $279.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $62.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $288.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.18.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $288.00 price objective (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W raised Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.15.

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.