Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC Trims Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,082 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Boston Partners raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,255,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $742,440. The trade was a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $255.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $247.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.78. The stock has a market cap of $57.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.17, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.17.

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.