Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group lessened its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,457 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,756 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after acquiring an additional 139,485 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after purchasing an additional 196,249 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,133,828,000 after purchasing an additional 62,186 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $967,340,000 after buying an additional 103,281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. Stephens boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $210.78 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $47.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $242.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 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.