Lafayette Investments Inc. Sells 54 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Lafayette Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,272 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 54 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern comprises about 2.1% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 200.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,877,000 after acquiring an additional 16,727 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $240.12. The company had a trading volume of 922,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,277. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $253.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $59.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 67.33%.

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.