IFG Advisory LLC Buys 839 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,435 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $251.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $61.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $250.74 and a 200-day moving average of $225.12. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one 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.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NSC. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $204.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $215.00 to $207.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.94.

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.