Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $31.25 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 108,877 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,603 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $31,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $24,033,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 15,143 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,133,629 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $340,554,000 after purchasing an additional 79,049 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $320.35.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $316.18 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $255.03 and a 52 week high of $326.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $311.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.35. The stock has a market cap of $71.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.