Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc Cuts Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,300 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 317.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $4.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $240.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,854,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,560. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.12. The company has a market capitalization of $59.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 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 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

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.