Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Estabrook Capital Management

Estabrook Capital Management reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,644 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective 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. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $247.86 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.85. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released 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. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’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 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 is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 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, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the acquisition, 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. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.