Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,125 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern accounts for approximately 2.0% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $469,764,000 after acquiring an additional 73,149 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $556,797,000. London Co. of Virginia lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,296,632 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $306,498,000 after purchasing an additional 38,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Claude Mongeau acquired 5,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NSC. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $0.75 on Thursday, reaching $216.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 410,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,100,940. 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 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $225.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly 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). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 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.