Two Sigma Securities LLC Sells 1,676 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Two Sigma Securities LLC cut its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 58.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,211 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,676 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $918,000. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $221.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $54.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.89%.

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.