Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. Takes $918,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 3,885 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,115 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,918,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 3,257 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,623 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC traded down $11.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $230.32. 3,569,162 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,320,261. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $251.14 and its 200-day moving average is $233.41. The stock has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders 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 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

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.