American National Bank & Trust Lowers Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

American National Bank & Trust trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 31.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 646 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 296 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $244.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $55.32 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.24. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.56.

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.