Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lessened its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 8.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,105 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 196 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,466 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.70.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $279.42 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $285.60 and its 200-day moving average is $264.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 41.19%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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.