Tufton Capital Management Has $8.78 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Tufton Capital Management cut its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,292 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 877 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern makes up about 1.7% of Tufton Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 30.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $282.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $63.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $285.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.86. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 41.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.