Park National Corp OH Has $1.75 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Park National Corp OH reduced its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,435 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 783 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 18,940 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,540 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,858 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $905,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE NSC opened at $236.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $53.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $253.87 and a 200-day moving average of $245.36. 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 Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

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.