Northcape Wealth Management LLC Trims 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, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $819,553,000 after buying an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $207,830,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $122,798,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $258.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.62. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

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 return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.