Hyman Charles D Cuts Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hyman Charles D trimmed its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 94,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 4,690 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up 1.3% of Hyman Charles D’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Hyman Charles D’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $22,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the fourth 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 grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the fourth 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 raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC traded down $0.25 on Wednesday, hitting $232.07. 1,182,663 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,325,848. 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 fifty day moving average of $248.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.41. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $52.43 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. 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 posted $3.32 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern 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.