Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,454 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 602 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,785 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 5,777 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 110.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,234 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 4,325 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 114,136 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 15,777 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.65.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was 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 accessible through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The transaction 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 shares were 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.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 10.9 %

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $24.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $247.22. 2,993,456 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,060,314. 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 twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $55.85 billion, a PE ratio of 39.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.55.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 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.