Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. decreased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,352 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $255.90 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $245.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.45. 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 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $57.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35.

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 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%. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

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.