Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by First Foundation Advisors

First Foundation Advisors lessened its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 957 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased 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 $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 4,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,065 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $257.37 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $238.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.06. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. 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 capitalization of $58.19 billion, a PE ratio of 41.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. 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 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.