Capital Advisors Inc. OK Sells 125 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,213 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,112,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $869,600,000 after purchasing an additional 13,513 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during 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. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 95,518.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,028,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $746,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025,065 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised 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 valued at $671,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $245.74 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $253.97 and a 200-day moving average of $229.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.33.

About Norfolk Southern

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.