Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,783,397 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 521,638 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $418,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after purchasing an additional 139,485 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after buying an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $721,452,000 after buying an additional 371,589 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $547,575,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $208.11 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $51.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $241.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.74.

Norfolk Southern 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.