Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Sells 165 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 389.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 489 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 8,130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,072,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 1,483 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 9,693 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,470,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Rockport Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $262.23. 26,846 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,250,710. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $59.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $252.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction 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 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

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.