Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock Holdings Decreased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,859,307 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 30,088 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.82% of Norfolk Southern worth $399,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 601,343 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $129,102,000 after purchasing an additional 86,726 shares during the period. Waycross Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 36.0% during the second quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 55,904 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $12,002,000 after purchasing an additional 14,805 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 122.0% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 182 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 34.7% during the second quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 5,423 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 220.0% during the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 5,322 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,659 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $247.12 on Tuesday. 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 $241.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.