Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,902 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after acquiring an additional 196,249 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,133,828,000 after purchasing an additional 62,186 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $967,340,000 after purchasing an additional 103,281 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE NSC opened at $250.13 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $248.95 and a 200 day moving average of $249.15. The company has a market capitalization of $56.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 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 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday. Stephens upped their price target 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.