Accredited Investors Inc. Makes New $239,000 Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,012 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 200.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares in the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $36,877,000 after purchasing an additional 16,727 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price 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. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $230.29 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $247.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.57. The company has a market cap of $52.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.