Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 139,238 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 49,203 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $32,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $309,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $238.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, 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 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $244.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.79.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.74.

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.