Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co lowered its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,806 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 284 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,466 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $280.83 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $302.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $285.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.74.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.19%.

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.