Blair William & Co. IL Decreases Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Blair William & Co. IL cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,435 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,211 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $10,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after buying an additional 139,485 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,318,716,000 after acquiring an additional 196,249 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,133,828,000 after buying an additional 62,186 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $967,340,000 after purchasing an additional 103,281 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Stephens increased their target price 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. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $230.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $245.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.08. 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 stock has a market cap of $52.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 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, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.