AM Investment Strategies LLC Takes $229,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

AM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 970 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 1,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $307,000. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,271 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,796 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,134,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC traded up $4.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $240.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,854,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,560. The firm has a market cap of $59.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $252.07 and a 200 day moving average of $232.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly 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 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 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.