Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,683 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,776 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $9,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 875,473 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $106,661,000 after purchasing an additional 429,288 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $247.85 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $55.99 billion, a PE ratio of 39.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $243.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.99.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.