Sage Investment Advisers LLC Has $818,000 Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sage Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,210 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 375 shares during the quarter. Sage Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Claude Mongeau acquired 5,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

NSC traded down $2.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $210.04. The company had a trading volume of 477,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,318,624. The company has a market capitalization of $47.45 billion, a PE ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $228.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.07. 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 posted 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 company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.89.

About Norfolk Southern

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.