Xponance Inc. Lowers Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Xponance Inc. lessened its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,390 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Boston Partners boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $241,421,000 after buying an additional 875,473 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $106,661,000 after buying an additional 429,288 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their target price on 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 decreased 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. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NSC opened at $246.93 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $55.83 billion, a PE ratio of 39.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 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.