WASHINGTON TRUST Co Invests $595,000 in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

WASHINGTON TRUST Co acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,980 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 423.8% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $317.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.81. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $319.94. The company has a market capitalization of $71.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

About Norfolk Southern

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.