Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Symmetry Investments LP

Symmetry Investments LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,955 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 134,139 shares during the period. Symmetry Investments LP’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 958 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 211,051 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $49,889,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $1,124,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern 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 value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Norfolk Southern 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 value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $247.86 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.91, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $243.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.85. 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 announced its quarterly 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 company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of 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 given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

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.