Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC lowered its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 67.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 580 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,221 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $136,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 price 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 $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NSC. 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 target on the stock. Stephens increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $210.78 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $242.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.36. The firm has a market cap of $51.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.