CWA Asset Management Group LLC Purchases 170 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,022 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 18.3% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,647,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,603,203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181,936 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 216.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,044,472 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $218,973,000 after acquiring an additional 714,737 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 31.4% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,330,991 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $529,811,000 after acquiring an additional 557,432 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 63.2% during the third quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,324,376 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $277,655,000 after buying an additional 512,626 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 64.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 620,400 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $141,011,000 after buying an additional 242,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.98% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $203.90 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $202.40 and a fifty-two week high of $291.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.24. The company has a market capitalization of $46.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.01. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 24.98%. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Norfolk Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 29th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Monday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $266.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.17.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.