Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 229 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 37.1% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,521 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after buying an additional 4,470 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 21,819 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,297,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,779,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,271,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $221.94. 801,174 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 941,763. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.43.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.