Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 136,003 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 5,760 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $31,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens raised 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $242.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $54.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $245.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.71. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

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.