Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC Lowers Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,807 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $698,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Boston Partners grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the 1st 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 during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 347,852 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NSC. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $271.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $195.76 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $251.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.83. The company has a market cap of $61.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.81 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.