Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 62.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,304 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 10,589 shares during the quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,763 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $11,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 79,305 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $19,468,000 after acquiring an additional 8,249 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $244.92 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.83. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern 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.