796 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Acquired by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 796 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $556,797,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $241,421,000 after acquiring an additional 875,473 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after acquiring an additional 577,171 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $106,661,000 after purchasing an additional 429,288 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. 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 research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.89.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Claude Mongeau bought 5,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,420,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE NSC opened at $214.06 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $48.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $227.10 and its 200 day moving average is $239.01.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results 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 company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. Research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

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.