Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,209 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 96,900.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 10,018,183 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,271,723,000 after acquiring an additional 10,007,855 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,112,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $869,600,000 after acquiring an additional 13,513 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 95,518.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,028,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $746,217,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025,065 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,724,821 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,546,214 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $627,438,000 after acquiring an additional 638,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.37% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.6 %

NSC opened at $196.88 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $261.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $197.39 and its 200-day moving average is $211.15. The company has a market capitalization of $44.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.29.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 22.26% and a net margin of 16.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $243.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.15.

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.