Profund Advisors LLC Trims Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Profund Advisors LLC lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,545 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 sale, 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. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

NSC stock opened at $246.93 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $244.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.76, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. 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.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced 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. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

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.