Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Acquires 1,250 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 94,245 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $22,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $1,796,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $309,000. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $4,703,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $246.19 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $55.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $226.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.41. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.