OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A Sells 294 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A decreased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,086 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 294 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up about 1.7% of OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the 3rd 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. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,830,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after buying an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $122,798,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $308,607,000 after purchasing an additional 469,558 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $234.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $246.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.14. 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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.