Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Raises Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,081 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Benchmark upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC traded down $10.98 on Wednesday, reaching $234.05. 1,098,730 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,262,051. The stock has a market cap of $57.63 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $252.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.09.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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 2.31%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

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.