Huntington National Bank Trims Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Huntington National Bank trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,300 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,320 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $309,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.74.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NSC opened at $238.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $244.55 and its 200 day moving average is $248.79. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.