Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $29.59 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 3,640 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $29,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,333,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.95.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NSC stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $234.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 735,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,159,895. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $246.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.25. The company has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.30%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 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.