Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Cox Capital Mgt LLC

Cox Capital Mgt LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern comprises 1.5% of Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,647,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,603,203,000 after buying an additional 1,181,936 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,330,991 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $529,811,000 after buying an additional 557,432 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,295,294 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,323,000 after buying an additional 24,172 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,166,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $492,338,000 after buying an additional 17,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,462,496 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $306,613,000 after buying an additional 27,419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.98% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $3.54 on Friday, reaching $203.90. 2,713,794 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,674,498. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $202.40 and a 1-year high of $291.55. The firm has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $235.58 and a 200-day moving average of $236.29.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 29th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $225.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Credit Suisse Group reduced 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $266.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently 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.