Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock Holdings Decreased by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,093,353 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 198,176 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned about 0.48% of Norfolk Southern worth $256,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $4,714,927,000 after purchasing an additional 139,485 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $721,452,000 after purchasing an additional 371,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $547,575,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $268.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:NSC traded up $2.48 on Friday, hitting $217.94. 1,401,075 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,248,782. The stock has a market cap of $53.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week 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 has a fifty day moving average of $237.20 and a 200-day moving average of $246.74.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.