Lincoln National Corp Cuts Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Lincoln National Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,840 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:NSC traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $232.19. The stock had a trading volume of 178,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,314,349. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $52.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $248.82 and its 200-day moving average is $234.41.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.32.

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.