First Pacific Financial Sells 59 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

First Pacific Financial lowered its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,856 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,435 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 21,672 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,123,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 3,884 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $918,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $267,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $251.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $250.74 and a 200 day moving average of $225.12. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $61.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $238.00 to $237.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.94.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.