Guardian Investment Management Reduces Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Guardian Investment Management decreased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,175 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded up $1.81 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $241.15. 533,869 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,269,527. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.38. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $59.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

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.