Certified Advisory Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Certified Advisory Corp cut its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,167 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Certified Advisory Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of research 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.8 %

NSC opened at $245.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.67. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The stock has a market cap of $55.57 billion, a PE ratio of 39.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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