Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 114,136 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,795 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned 0.05% of Norfolk Southern worth $26,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 317.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $204.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.94.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $251.72 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $250.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.12. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $61.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

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.