Welch & Forbes LLC Lowers Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,334 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 108.0% during the fourth quarter. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 15,604 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 52.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,666 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $105,225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $243.89 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. 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 50 day moving average price of $246.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.85.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.71%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. 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.