Rhumbline Advisers Sells 7,957 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 423,757 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 7,957 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $99,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $144,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 84,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $20,965,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,252 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,076 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $255.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.44.

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, beating 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 forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.71%.

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.