Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. trimmed its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 62.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,304 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 10,589 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This 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

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Stephens boosted 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. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $244.92 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

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.