ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Sells 256 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,385 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NSC opened at $252.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $247.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $57.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $294.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.17.

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.