Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 82.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,842 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 94,448 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TheStreet raised Norfolk Southern from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.33.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $239.34 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. 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 has a market capitalization of $58.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $253.51 and a 200-day moving average of $230.38.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.33%.

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.