Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Sells 3,955 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,900 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,955 shares during the period. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $20,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Tennessee Treasury Department grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 209.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,454,000 after purchasing an additional 75,729 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $608,000. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,627,000. Finally, Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 96,384 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $22,783,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $251.81 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $56.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.55, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $242.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.07.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $742,440. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.