Investment Management Corp of Ontario Grows Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 47.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,457 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $472,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.2% during the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $13,627,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the second quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 5,015 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25.6% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,955 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,431,000 after purchasing an additional 6,108 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $267.63 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $258.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $60.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

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.