Running Oak Capital LLC Has $1.88 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 351.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,962 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,393 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 206,376 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $48,783,000 after purchasing an additional 49,278 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 131,823 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $31,160,000 after purchasing an additional 4,673 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 833,075 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $196,922,000 after purchasing an additional 7,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup upped their price target 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 upgraded 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 research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $4.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $233.80. 1,643,128 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,327,568. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $250.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.39. The company has a market cap of $52.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.12, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (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 was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

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.