Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by First City Capital Management Inc.

First City Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 29.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,695 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 701 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,424 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,960 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,285,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 13,192.9% in the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,861 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 8.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 31,207 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,700,000 after buying an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the second quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 7,337 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.6 %

NSC opened at $247.86 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $243.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.85. The firm has a market cap of $56.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

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.