Trustmark National Bank Trust Department Sells 1,439 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department cut its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,444 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,439 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $27,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America raised 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, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $264.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $253.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.58. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

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.