Peoples Bank KS Has $95,000 Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Peoples Bank KS lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 405 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Peoples Bank KS’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $95,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.74.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.3 %

NSC opened at $237.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.42.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.