Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 109 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,210 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after buying an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $261.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $59.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $252.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.64. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $205.70 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % 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 company insiders.

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.