Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Stock Holdings Lessened by Clearstead Advisors LLC

Clearstead Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 264,937 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 14,193 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern comprises approximately 1.0% of Clearstead Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $76,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.83.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3%

NSC stock opened at $313.72 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $236.37 and a 52 week high of $323.37. The company has a market capitalization of $70.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $300.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.