Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,424 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

NSC stock opened at $256.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $58.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $249.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.64. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.70%.

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.