Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Cibc World Market Inc.

Cibc World Market Inc. decreased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 55.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 18,797 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $28,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 669.2% during the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $313.88 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $305.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.20. The company has a market capitalization of $70.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $247.85 and a 1 year high of $326.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. 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.