Highland Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,424 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after buying an additional 196,249 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in 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 last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $967,340,000 after buying an additional 103,281 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,280,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.39.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

NSC stock opened at $256.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.64. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.