Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL

Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,627 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern makes up about 0.8% of Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 960 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,507 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective 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. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $243.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $246.51 and its 200-day moving average is $250.85.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.