Dover Advisors LLC Sells 105 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Dover Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,452 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $956,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $846,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $583,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $0.49 on Tuesday, hitting $254.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,071,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,251,320. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The stock has a market cap of $57.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $246.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern 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.