SouthState Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

SouthState Corp lessened its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,374 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 346 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC traded up $1.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $235.55. 1,072,653 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,324,604. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $53.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $250.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.40.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus 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.