Insigneo Advisory Services LLC Lowers Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Insigneo Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 54.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,114 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,544 shares during the quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $547,575,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after buying an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $308,607,000 after acquiring an additional 469,558 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $105,225,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 13.8% in the 4th 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.79.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $219.99 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.94. The stock has a market cap of $54.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.