Insider Selling: Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) CEO Sells 51,325 Shares of Stock

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $249.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 793,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,263,109. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.45 billion, a PE ratio of 40.02, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NSC. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Benchmark boosted 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, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.17.

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.