Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,372 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,444,000. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $48,259,000. ClearBridge Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,973,000. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 200.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $215.00 to $207.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned 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 $252.38.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded up $2.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $254.65. 332,068 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,359,453. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $250.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.70 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.