Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,240 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,240 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $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% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake 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 lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,001,507 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $394,157,000 after acquiring an additional 49,224 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.4 %

NSC stock traded down $0.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $239.94. 1,461,075 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 977,733. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $251.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.49. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.