Texas Yale Capital Corp. Trims Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Texas Yale Capital Corp. lessened its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,742 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $547,575,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 56.4% during the 4th 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 $105,225,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 371,589 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $205.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.45. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.