City Holding Co. Decreases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

City Holding Co. cut its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,204 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth $40,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

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 purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 10,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,353,715. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.0 %

NSC stock traded down $2.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $239.62. 710,920 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,303,235. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $54.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $226.41 and its 200-day moving average is $238.43.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

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.