Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 49.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,878 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 40,350 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $10,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Tennessee Treasury Department boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 209.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,454,000 after purchasing an additional 75,729 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 150,998 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $35,692,000 after purchasing an additional 40,861 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $608,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $984,000. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,442,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NSC. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $247.63. 2,125,825 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,320,542. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.61. The company has a market cap of $55.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

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.