Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 58 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,089 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.8 %

NSC stock traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $232.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,296,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,475. 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 firm has a market cap of $52.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $248.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.41. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

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.