Eagle Ridge Investment Management Sells 449 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Eagle Ridge Investment Management reduced its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,488 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern accounts for 2.4% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $24,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NSC stock traded down $0.59 on Monday, reaching $239.35. 786,922 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,285,040. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.07 billion, a PE ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.92.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.32 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.