Portland Global Advisors LLC Sells 164 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Portland Global Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,667 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Portland Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,205,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,059 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 7.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 44,979 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $11,177,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,023,725 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $254,396,000 after purchasing an additional 66,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.9% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 45,945 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $11,418,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $230.41 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.08. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $52.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on NSC shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stephens upped their price objective 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. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.84.

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.