Earnest Partners LLC Sells 136 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Earnest Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,742 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 136 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $244.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.35, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $244.30 and a 200 day moving average of $237.62.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.89.

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.