Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Decreases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,698 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 $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 owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.9 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $249.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $56.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $246.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.65. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60.

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, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

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.