Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock Position Trimmed by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 33.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,620 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,360 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on NSC. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Norfolk Southern 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC traded up $24.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $247.22. The stock had a trading volume of 2,993,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,060,314. The company’s fifty day moving average is $222.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.