Eagle Ridge Investment Management Has $24.46 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Eagle Ridge Investment Management lessened its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,488 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern accounts for approximately 2.4% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $24,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $469,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,149 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,001,507 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $394,157,000 after acquiring an additional 49,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NSC stock traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $239.35. 786,922 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,285,040. The firm has a market cap of $54.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.92.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.32 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

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.