Opal Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $356,000 Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,504 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NSC opened at $248.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.12.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.49 EPS. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.89%.

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.