Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Lowers Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,200 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 3,420 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $3.29 on Friday, hitting $233.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,022,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 957,902. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. 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 $52.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $253.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.