Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,001 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 42 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $256.78 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 $58.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $249.41 and a 200 day moving average of $248.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

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.