Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp lessened its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 234,993 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 15,069 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.10% of Norfolk Southern worth $55,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $469,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,001,507 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $394,157,000 after purchasing an additional 49,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $239.94 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $251.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.71. The stock has a market cap of $54.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

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.