Welch & Forbes LLC Has $330,000 Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,394 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $231.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 335,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,315,668. The stock has a market cap of $52.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $248.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.41. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

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.