Cullinan Associates Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cullinan Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 13th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $214.16. The stock had a trading volume of 550,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,274. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $227.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.01. The stock has a market cap of $48.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

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.