Zions Bancorporation N.A. Has $33,000 Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 140 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $33,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted 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 worth $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $207,830,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $122,798,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $308,607,000 after acquiring an additional 469,558 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $235.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $53.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.