Blue Chip Partners LLC Decreases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Blue Chip Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,057 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $255.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $245.35 and its 200 day moving average is $250.45. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.