Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Position Trimmed by Hexagon Capital Partners LLC

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 430 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $214.06. The stock had a trading volume of 749,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,328,629. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 86.96%.

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.