Northcape Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $207,830,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $122,798,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Citigroup lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $258.37 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $58.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $245.37 and its 200 day moving average is $250.62.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.