Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Invests $236,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 10,719 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $36,877,000 after purchasing an additional 16,727 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $241.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $252.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.33%.

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.