Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Pathway Financial Advisers LLC

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 99.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,693 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 889,766 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 trade 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

Shares of NSC opened at $253.80 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $245.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

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.