Norris Perne & French LLP MI Sells 100 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $56,144,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 1,063 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,527 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $10,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $4.79 on Friday, hitting $214.69. 1,584,755 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,129,521. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $48.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.