Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Capital Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,147 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. Loop Capital upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $237.48 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $53.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $253.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.