Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by London Co. of Virginia

London Co. of Virginia trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,805,124 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 39,804 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up about 3.0% of London Co. of Virginia’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $542,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $28,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $290.74 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $300.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.33. The stock has a market cap of $65.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $319.94.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 42.35%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.