Parallel Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Parallel Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,882 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 274 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $833,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $556,797,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,339 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Associated Banc Corp acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $247.12 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $241.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.