Whittier Trust Co. Has $41.52 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176,892 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. owned about 0.08% of Norfolk Southern worth $41,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Bank boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 8,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $240,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. BIP Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 74.5% in the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 26.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,096 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $769,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens lifted their target price on 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, Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE NSC opened at $234.71 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $246.14 and a 200-day moving average of $250.14. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.