ICW Investment Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.3 %

NSC stock traded up $0.77 on Wednesday, reaching $231.09. 659,709 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,311,756. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $52.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.41.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.32 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

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.