Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc.

BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. cut its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 64.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 305 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 545 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Horan Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 1,725 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $465,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $308,607,000 after purchasing an additional 469,558 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camden National Bank increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 1,338 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This trade represents 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. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 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, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $243.89 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.92. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $55.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.