Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 423,757 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 7,957 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.19% of Norfolk Southern worth $99,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $9.47 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $248.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,435,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,166. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.62.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern 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.