Van ECK Associates Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,069 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third 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. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,331,000 after acquiring an additional 26,686 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,261 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $469,764,000 after acquiring an additional 73,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,001,507 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $394,157,000 after purchasing an additional 49,224 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $235.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $250.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.40. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $53.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.93, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

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.