Portland Global Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Portland Global Advisors LLC lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,667 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Portland Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $547,575,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,830,000. Boston Partners raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $122,798,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $308,607,000 after purchasing an additional 469,558 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $230.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.08. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $52.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

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, 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.