Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock Holdings Reduced by SPC Financial Inc.

SPC Financial Inc. lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,626 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $435,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.7% in the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 960 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

NSC stock opened at $238.79 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $54.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $246.30 and its 200-day moving average is $250.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired 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 owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.