Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,526 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NSC. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. TheStreet raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.38.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded up $2.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $254.07. The stock had a trading volume of 487,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,362,076. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $62.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $250.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.12.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.33%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.