Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 1,912 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,358 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,912 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after acquiring an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $469,764,000 after buying an additional 73,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $389,305,000 after buying an additional 577,171 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $232.07 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $248.82 and a 200 day moving average of $234.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $52.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

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.