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

O Brien Wealth Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 48.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 650 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 599 shares during the quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 65.6% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 166,520 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $32,793,000 after purchasing an additional 65,966 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 64.9% during the third quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,855,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 450.3% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 25,400 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,002,000 after acquiring an additional 20,784 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 569.2% during the third quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 8,967 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 7,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $213.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 411,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,325,924. The company has a market cap of $48.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $227.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.01.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company 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%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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 2.53%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,420,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.