Bank of New Hampshire Purchases 250 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bank of New Hampshire grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $4.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $240.83. 1,660,688 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,286,279. The business’s fifty day moving average is $252.34 and its 200 day moving average is $232.12. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, 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 quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 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 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.32 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

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.