Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Sells 1,244 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lessened its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,880 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,244 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern comprises about 1.7% of Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

NSC stock opened at $249.20 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $56.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $246.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on NSC. UBS Group boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

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.