Seascape Capital Management Raises Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Seascape Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the quarter. Seascape Capital Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,112,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $869,600,000 after acquiring an additional 13,513 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 95,518.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,028,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $746,217,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,724,821 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,666 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.33.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $4.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $245.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,090,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,296,217. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $253.97 and a 200-day moving average of $229.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

Norfolk Southern 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.