O Brien Wealth Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

O Brien Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 48.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 650 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $556,797,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $241,421,000 after purchasing an additional 875,473 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $106,661,000 after purchasing an additional 429,288 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $213.32. 411,184 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,325,924. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $227.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.01. The company has a market cap of $48.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.