Hills Bank & Trust Co Lowers Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hills Bank & Trust Co reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,958 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $389,305,000 after acquiring an additional 577,171 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $103,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $83,031,000 after purchasing an additional 349,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $3.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $229.67. 1,103,197 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,360,327. The company has a market cap of $51.88 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.32 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

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.