Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 6,056 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 33.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,941 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 6,056 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.5% during the third quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 5,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horan Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research lowered Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.47.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total transaction of $253,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,413 shares in the company, valued at $397,900.80. The trade was a 38.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $315.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $293.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.93. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $319.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.