Trust Co. of Oklahoma Decreases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Trust Co. of Oklahoma reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,882 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares during the period. Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $58,255,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NSC traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $255.02. The company had a trading volume of 523,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,248,535. The firm has a market cap of $57.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $246.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $294.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.17.

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.