DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Reduces Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,056 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 25,565 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $245.80 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $240.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.02. The stock has a market cap of $55.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

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.