Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,943 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 36,634 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 20,325 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,879 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 198,626 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $46,951,000 after buying an additional 6,414 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 3,210 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 22,763 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,381,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 9,363 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on NSC. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.1 %

NSC opened at $248.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $245.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.12.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.