Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,698 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 958 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $309,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.63.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $235.65 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.