State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 3,204 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,794 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,204 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after purchasing an additional 196,249 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,133,828,000 after buying an additional 62,186 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $967,340,000 after buying an additional 103,281 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after acquiring an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $249.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $247.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.50. The firm has a market cap of $56.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

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.