Smith Moore & CO. Cuts Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Smith Moore & CO. lowered its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,115 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the 3rd 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 purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $309,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Stephens upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lowered 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 note on Thursday, March 27th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.74.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $210.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $242.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.34. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $47.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.56%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.