Logan Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Logan Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,425 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 870 shares during the quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 129.2% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 149 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 883.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $280.83 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $285.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $302.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 41.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.70.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern 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.