Empower Advisory Group LLC Invests $356,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,707 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $6,214,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 119,260 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,283,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 72.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $226.00 to $257.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $260.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $210.00 to $227.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $242.00 to $262.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $243.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.40.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $204.03 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $194.05 and a fifty-two week high of $261.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $218.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The railroad operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.56%.

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.