Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 140 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,224 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $312,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $0.89 on Friday, hitting $239.94. 1,461,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 977,733. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.49. The company has a market cap of $54.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern 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.