Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp reduced its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,701 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,087 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned about 0.07% of Norfolk Southern worth $37,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.5 %

NSC stock opened at $256.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $58.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $258.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.