Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY Trims Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,760 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,665 shares during the quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 317.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $4.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $214.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,584,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,129,521. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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