Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co trimmed its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,333 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,525,699,000 after acquiring an additional 124,362 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $813,554,000 after acquiring an additional 37,386 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during 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 during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.4 %

NSC stock opened at $267.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $60.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $195.76 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.05.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.89.

About Norfolk Southern

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.