Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by NBT Bank N A NY

NBT Bank N A NY cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,923 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $556,797,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $241,421,000 after buying an additional 875,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $106,661,000 after acquiring an additional 429,288 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 4,700 shares of company stock worth $1,105,065. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $4.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $256.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,453,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,269,998. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.22. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $57.87 billion, a PE ratio of 41.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern 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.