Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,943 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 24,005 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern accounts for 2.1% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Norfolk Southern worth $42,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $918,000. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $244.90 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $55.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $246.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.94. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.