Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.

Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,120 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after buying an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,830,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $122,798,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $240.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $54.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

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.