Seascape Capital Management Cuts Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Seascape Capital Management decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,805 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Seascape Capital Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $144,000. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 84,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $20,965,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,252 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 21.8% in the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,076 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $255.90 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.44. The company has a market capitalization of $57.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.