Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,411,339 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 136,222 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $517,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% during the 4th 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 holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.89.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. 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 stock opened at $246.49 on Friday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.69, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 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.