Acropolis Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Newfound Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Insight Inv LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. 72.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $203.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $202.40 and a 12 month high of $291.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $235.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.24. The company has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.01. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Norfolk Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 38.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $256.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $273.00 to $266.00 in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $244.00 in a report on Thursday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.17.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.