Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Symmetry Investments LP

Symmetry Investments LP lessened its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,955 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 134,139 shares during the quarter. Symmetry Investments LP’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $634,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after buying an additional 347,852 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $247.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $56.00 billion, a PE ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.85. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 research note on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna upped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

About Norfolk Southern

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.