Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,990 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 506 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 4,700 shares of company stock worth $1,105,065 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays decreased their price target 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 increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NSC opened at $256.16 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $233.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.05.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

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.