Webster Bank N. A. Sells 221 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Webster Bank N. A. trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 55.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 179 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $46,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded up $4.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $214.69. 1,584,755 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,129,521. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $48.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,420,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.