Rhumbline Advisers Sells 11,365 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 443,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 11,365 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.20% of Norfolk Southern worth $95,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 42,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $9,052,000 after acquiring an additional 3,857 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.5% in the second quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 8,318 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.7% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 258,850 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $55,573,000 after purchasing an additional 31,107 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 3,263 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp now owns 1,187 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Benchmark upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen upped their target price 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, 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 through this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 4,700 shares of company stock worth $1,105,065 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $254.47 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $234.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The stock has a market cap of $57.49 billion, a PE ratio of 40.98, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. 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.