Evermay Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,667 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NSC. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.78.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $226.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 784,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,311. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.