Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,736 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 133 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Newfound Research LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Insight Inv LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 72.98% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Norfolk Southern from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Argus cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.83.
Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.3 %
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 25.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Norfolk Southern Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Norfolk Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 38.85%.
Norfolk Southern Company Profile
Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.
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