Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 18.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,320 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 5,494 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 58.5% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 30.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $307.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $282.97 per share, with a total value of $466,900.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,395,640. This trade represents a 15.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE NSC opened at $284.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $302.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $286.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.97.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.25 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.19%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.