Financial Security Advisor Inc. Sells 66 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,799 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 66 shares during the quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $900,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Greenline Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $35,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on NSC. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $278.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.80.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $266.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.31. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $247.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.69. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 36.89%.

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.