International Assets Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

International Assets Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 99.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,239 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 346,904 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $233.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $253.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.41.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.70%.

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.