Diversified Trust Co Reduces Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Diversified Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,166 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $556,797,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,261 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $241,421,000 after acquiring an additional 875,473 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $106,661,000 after acquiring an additional 429,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $83,031,000 after acquiring an additional 349,778 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

NSC opened at $215.55 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $226.49 and its 200-day moving average is $238.87. The company has a market capitalization of $48.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.