Davidson Investment Advisors Sells 20,811 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Davidson Investment Advisors lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 27.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,068 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 20,811 shares during the quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $12,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $255.90 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.45. The company has a market capitalization of $57.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 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 (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 46.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern 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.