Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by London Co. of Virginia

London Co. of Virginia lessened its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,805,124 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 39,804 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern makes up about 3.0% of London Co. of Virginia’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. London Co. of Virginia owned 0.80% of Norfolk Southern worth $542,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $290.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $65.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $319.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $300.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.33. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. On average, research 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 given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Susquehanna lifted 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern 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.