Jump Financial LLC Sells 17,850 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Jump Financial LLC lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 68.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,118 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 17,850 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $547,575,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $308,607,000 after buying an additional 469,558 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,225,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $721,452,000 after buying an additional 371,589 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE NSC opened at $219.99 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.74. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $54.24 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.79.

About Norfolk Southern

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.