Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Acquires New Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Boltwood Capital Management raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,059,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,403 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 5,641 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Loop Capital increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $241.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $252.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.80. The firm has a market cap of $59.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-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.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. 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.