CNB Bank Sells 151 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

CNB Bank reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,081 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. CNB Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $58,255,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $252.37 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $57.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $294.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.17.

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.