ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 43 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23.6% during the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,403 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

NSC traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $241.28. 961,995 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,271,173. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $252.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.80. The stock has a market cap of $59.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

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.