First Horizon Advisors Inc. Has $539,000 Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,295 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $243.75 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 46.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % 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. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.