Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank lowered its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,397 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $547,575,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after buying an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $308,607,000 after acquiring an additional 469,558 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,225,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $721,452,000 after acquiring an additional 371,589 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.79.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $219.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. 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 fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.94.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.