Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Lowers Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,880 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 1,244 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern comprises about 1.7% of Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 57,528 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $13,502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,078 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,123 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,141,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business'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 directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $253.80. 876,492 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,197,585. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The stock's fifty day moving average is $245.86 and its 200 day moving average is $250.31. 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 cap of $57.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.