Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 81 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,237 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase 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 Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $276.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $62.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.42. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern 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.