Empirical Finance LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,923 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $214,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,622 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,142,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 291.2% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,218 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.3% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,726 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $202,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $249.20 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $246.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $249.83. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $56.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

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

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.