Somerset Trust Co Has $4.04 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Somerset Trust Co lowered its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 123 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern accounts for 1.5% of Somerset Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $58,255,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.06.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NSC opened at $245.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $246.51 and its 200-day moving average is $236.76. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. 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 business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. This represents a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.