Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Stock Position Decreased by Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC trimmed its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,137 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,465 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern makes up 1.3% of Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $27,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 68.9% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Morgan Stanley upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.52.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2%

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $290.09 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $302.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $289.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $65.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.25 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 4,454 shares of company stock worth $1,259,874. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.