Financial Counselors Inc. Has $1.91 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,131 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after acquiring an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $309,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $235.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. 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 twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $245.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.