Sone Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 19,279 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $4,525,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $246.19 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio 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.