EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 157 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 958 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after buying an additional 264,031 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $469,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,149 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $556,797,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $226.86. 784,943 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,714,311. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $241.56 and its 200-day moving average is $237.30. The stock has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.78.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.