Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,494 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 11,226 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $27,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,515 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 791 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 3,090 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Evercore set a $325.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $320.67.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $316.26 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $299.64 and a 200-day moving average of $294.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $218.05 and a 12-month high of $323.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.49%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.