Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,926 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.74.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $255.44 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $57.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $248.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.05. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.