Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co reduced its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,866 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,654 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 9th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NSC traded up $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $235.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,072,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,953. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.59. The firm has a market cap of $53.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.