Baxter Bros Inc. Has $6.56 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Baxter Bros Inc. reduced its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,736 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 176 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 44,553 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 14,810 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,917,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 59.0% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 5,974 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 110,341 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $21,729,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on NSC. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $235.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,072,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,953. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.59. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $53.21 billion, a PE ratio of 37.93, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. 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.