Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Has $578,000 Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,446 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 311 shares during the quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,403 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $241.28. 963,434 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,271,154. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.45.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. 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, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.