PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 375,467 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 7,305 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $96,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $282.97 per share, with a total value of $466,900.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,395,640. The trade was a 15.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.70.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:NSC opened at $286.63 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $302.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $286.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.