Wexford Capital LP Invests $4.02 Million in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,128 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $4,020,000. Norfolk Southern makes up approximately 0.6% of Wexford Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $246.19 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $55.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.41. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.89%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.