Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,053 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners boosted 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 raised 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. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $6.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $270.33. The company had a trading volume of 123,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,254,479. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.45. The stock has a market cap of $61.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $193.15 and a 52-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 net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

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.