Park National Corp OH Reduces Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Park National Corp OH lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,308 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 427 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $556,797,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 600.3% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $241,421,000 after purchasing an additional 875,473 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $221.94 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $231.37 and a 200-day moving average of $239.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.14 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.31. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid 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 presently 86.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.56.

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.