Skylands Capital LLC Sells 2,385 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Skylands Capital LLC reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 61,285 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,385 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern accounts for 2.1% of Skylands Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $14,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 30,331 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $7,119,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 39,460 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $9,261,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,544 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,359,000 after buying an additional 2,862 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.71.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $255.89 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $57.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $240.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.14.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.40% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 36.89%.

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.