Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $4.84 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,633 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 837 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after acquiring an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $309,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $235.51 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 46.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.84.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.