Umpqua Bank Has $1.23 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,150 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Plancorp LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 21,442 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,032,000 after acquiring an additional 6,781 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $11,299,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $794,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE NSC opened at $231.84 on Friday. 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 $52.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG 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’s 50 day moving average price is $246.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.85.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.63.

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.