Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 171,174 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 8,945 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Norfolk Southern worth $40,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 3.7 %

NYSE:NSC traded down $9.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $248.96. 2,440,964 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,209,324. The company has a fifty day moving average of $245.37 and a 200 day moving average of $250.62. The company has a market capitalization of $56.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 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. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.