Evansbrook LLC Invests $556,000 in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Evansbrook LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,924 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $556,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 239.3% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 669.2% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Argus raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2%

NSC stock opened at $299.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $67.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $309.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.62. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $251.62 and a 52 week high of $326.00.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.