Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX Acquires Shares of 1,200 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $261.78.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NSC traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $225.83. The stock had a trading volume of 455,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,365,266. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $242.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.30. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.