O Brien Wealth Partners LLC Sells 237 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

O Brien Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 36.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $251.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.76 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.99. The company has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 3,700 shares of company stock valued at $921,565. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Norfolk Southern

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.