Zhang Financial LLC Purchases New Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 904 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Boltwood Capital Management raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,403 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 5,641 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NSC. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group raised Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $241.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $252.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.07. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

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.