Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by First Pacific Financial

First Pacific Financial lessened its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,856 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,444,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $48,259,000. ClearBridge Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $34,973,000. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 200.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 10,719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $238.00 to $237.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Bank of America raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $204.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Friday, December 1st. UBS Group upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $215.00 to $207.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.94.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $251.72 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The stock has a market cap of $61.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $250.74 and a 200-day moving average of $225.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Norfolk Southern 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.