Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc Sells 70 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc trimmed its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,300 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 317.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.9 %

NSC traded up $4.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $240.69. 1,854,411 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,287,560. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $252.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.32 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 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.