Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Has $15.70 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,880 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,244 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern comprises approximately 1.7% of Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during 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 buying an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,796,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on NSC. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $249.20 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $246.51 and a 200-day moving average of $249.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $56.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 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 released 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 net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. 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.