Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Has $499,000 Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,124 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 107 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after acquiring an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,796,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $257.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.33. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $58.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side 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 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 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

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 acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target 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, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

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.