Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 161 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,609 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 304 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 960 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,507 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NSC. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $240.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $54.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $242.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.49 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.89%.

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.