Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners Purchases New Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 271 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $64,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Boltwood Capital Management grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,403 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 5,641 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horan Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.5% in the third quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 1,578 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $244.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $60.23 billion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.30. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.71.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern 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.