1,000 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Bought by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 1,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,762,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.78.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NSC traded up $0.56 on Friday, reaching $226.86. 784,943 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,714,311. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $241.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.60. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 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.