Fairman Group LLC Sells 77 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Fairman Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 522 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Fairman Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on NSC shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $256.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $58.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. 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 50 day simple moving average of $246.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.24. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.