Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,454 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $237,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,438 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $23,505,000 after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,049 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Management Corp VA acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $244.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a PEG ratio of 3.28 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. TD Cowen raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

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.