OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Sells 244 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lessened its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NSC stock traded up $4.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $243.67. 154,081 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,264,862. The firm has a market cap of $59.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.38.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.33.

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.