Fairman Group LLC Cuts Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Fairman Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 522 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Fairman Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after buying an additional 196,249 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,133,828,000 after acquiring an additional 62,186 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $967,340,000 after purchasing an additional 103,281 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $256.53 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $58.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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.