Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 99.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,675 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 427,075 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $613,255,000. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 550.6% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 983,366 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $251,712,000 after acquiring an additional 832,210 shares during the period. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $181,995,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $150,989,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 952,544 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $286,154,000 after purchasing an additional 459,166 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director William Jr. Clyburn bought 204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Argus upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $317.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $319.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $298.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.81.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The business’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.35%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.