Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,372 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $25,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on NSC. Morgan Stanley downgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $215.00 to $207.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $204.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Friday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.38.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded up $2.93 on Thursday, reaching $254.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 332,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,359,453. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $250.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $62.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

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.