Corient Private Wealth LLC Sells 13,452 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Corient Private Wealth LLC decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 137,478 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 13,452 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $32,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $234.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $246.25 and a 200 day moving average of $250.40.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.