Amalgamated Bank Trims Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Amalgamated Bank cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 54,696 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,319 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $12,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 44,553 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $225,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 14,810 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,917,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 5,974 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 110,341 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $21,729,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $235.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,072,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,324,604. The company has a market cap of $53.21 billion, a PE ratio of 37.93, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $250.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

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.