Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,866 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 569 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded down $5.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $226.35. 4,717,549 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,363,551. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.40.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.32 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid 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 yield of 2.39%. 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.