Kanawha Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,208 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 850 shares during the quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $12,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $257.22 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was 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 acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.