First Financial Bank Trust Division Sells 119 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lowered its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $222.00. The company had a trading volume of 165,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,795. The business’s 50-day moving average is $232.00 and its 200-day moving average is $239.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $50.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.