Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) EVP Anil Bhatt Sells 900 Shares

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,413 shares in the company, valued at $397,900.80. This trade represents a 38.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock traded down $0.44 during trading on Thursday, hitting $281.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,169,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,562,681. The business has a 50 day moving average of $287.31 and a 200 day moving average of $270.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $307.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.10.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSC. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.