Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Toroso Investments LLC

Toroso Investments LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,764 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 952 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Newfound Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Insight Inv LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.98% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $203.90 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $202.40 and a fifty-two week high of $291.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.01. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.66 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Norfolk Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 38.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Norfolk Southern from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.17.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.