LPL Financial LLC Sells 3,277 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

LPL Financial LLC cut its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 248,574 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,277 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $58,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $17,793,000. Umpqua Bank raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 5,150 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Plancorp LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 21,442 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,032,000 after acquiring an additional 6,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $11,299,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $235.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $245.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.32. The company has a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its 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 net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.84.

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.