Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 13,179 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,331 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 13,179 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.10% of Norfolk Southern worth $48,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 2,286 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 72.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.55, for a total transaction of $419,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 30,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,423,545.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Vertical Research raised Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $242.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $226.00 to $257.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.40.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $211.20 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $224.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.26. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $196.33 and a twelve month high of $261.71. The company has a market capitalization of $47.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The railroad operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 20.25% and a return on equity of 24.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.59 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.56%.

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.