Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Trims Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,474 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,758 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $28,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,360,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.0% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark increased their price objective 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 10,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,353,715 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $241.16. 223,963 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,274,061. The firm has a market cap of $54.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $228.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend 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.